Subrata Roy 'grounded', literally

Police take surface route to Delhi; Sahara chief to be produced in SC today

A Lucknow police team on Monday left for Delhi by road with Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy to produce him before the Supreme Court at 2 pm on Tuesday.

The cavalcade, comprising three sports utility vehicles, started from the city around 3 pm and will take the 10-hour Kanpur-Firozabad-Agra route to reach the national capital via Yamuna Expressway.

“The escorting police team, led by a circle officer, has an inspector, a sub-inspector and four armed constables,” Lucknow Superintendent of Police (City, Trans-Gomti) Habibul Hasan told Business Standard.

He said Roy was being taken by road, and not air, as there was ample time. “There have been instances of people under custody being taken to places by air. But that’s only when required.”

Asked if private vehicles of Sahara officials or Roy’s family members could accompany, Hasan clarified Roy would travel in a police vehicle, while anyone was free to ply on the same road.

The Supreme Court had on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant against the Sahara chief after he failed to appear before a Bench hearing a case related to refund of about Rs 20,000 crore to investors by two Sahara group companies.

To execute the arrest order, a team of city police had the next day visited Roy’s residential estate, Sahara Shaher, but was not able to find him there. Roy later claimed he had gone to consult a team of doctors over his mother’s medical reports.

The Sahara chief was arrested on Friday morning. Group officials, however, said he had surrendered before the police. Roy’s lawyers, meanwhile, moved the apex court for the recall of non-bailable arrest warrant, offering Roy’s unconditional apology and an undertaking to appear before the Court on March 4.

Later, Roy was produced before Lucknow Chief Judicial Magistrate Anand Kumar, who sent him to police custody and directed the officials to produce him before the Court on March 4. Roy had been lodged in a guest house at the Kukrail picnic spot on the outskirts of Lucknow.