A picturesque dwelling the Sahara chief could do without

At the Kukrail guest house, Roy is under the watch of a DSP, three station officers and armed constables

Lodged in the modest Kukrail guest house on the outskirts of Lucknow, Subrata Roy, chief of multi-billion Sahara group, would have found the going to his liking, if it wasn't for the unfavourable circumstances.

Roy was arrested by the Lucknow Police on Friday morning, following a non-bailable warrant issued against him by the Supreme Court. He was sent to police custody late in the evening. While sending Roy to police custody, Lucknow Chief Judicial Magistrate Anand Kumar also directed the police to ensure he was produced before the Supreme Court on March 4, as directed by the apex court on February 26.

The Kukrail guest house was built in 1974. Understandably, Roy is possibly the most high-profile and richest person to have been lodged here. "We were informed only 10 minutes before Roy was being brought to the guest house by the police," Kukrail forest officer Mahendra Singh Yadav told Business Standard.

Far removed from his sprawling residential estate of Sahara Shahar, spread over hundreds of acres in the posh Gomti Nagar area here, the nondescript suite in Kukrail comprises a bedroom and a dining room, spread across a mere 1,000 sq ft area. Behind the guest house, about a km and a half off the main road, is a canal, while lush greens cover the remaining sides. The narrow stretch leading to the guest house is pot-holed, muddy and broken at most places, making the accomodation difficult to reach.

At the guest house, Roy is under the watchful eyes of a deputy superintendent of police, three station officers and armed constables. "The policemen will be always there, in shifts, as there is the aspect of ensuring his safety. There is no restriction on him, in terms of food or visitors. We will try to provide anything he needs during the course of his custody," said Lucknow Superintendent of Police (trans-Gomti) Habib-ul-Hasan.

It is likely Roy will be taken to New Delhi on Monday so that he can be produced before the Supreme Court by 2 pm on Tuesday. The court had issued an arrest warrant against Roy after he failed to appear before a division bench hearing a case related to the refund of about Rs 20,000 crore to investors.

Roy had moved the Supreme Court, urging the warrant be recalled, offering an unconditional apology and giving an undertaking to appear before court on March 4, the next date of hearing. However, he failed to secure any relief. In his submission before the court, Roy had said his mother was critically ill and he was attending to her.

On February 27, police personnel had entered the high-security Sahara Shahar to execute the non-bailable warrant against Roy. However, it later claimed not to have found him inside.