Ex-legislator seeks Mulayam's permission to end life

A former legislator of the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) has written to party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, seeking permission to end his own life, and that of his wife.

In a letter addressed to the father-son duo of Mulayam and Akhilesh Yadav, Abdul Samad Ansari and his wife Shehla Parveen have alleged harassment at the hands of Congress legislator Ajay Rai. They said that over the last week, the Congress leader had been trying to defame them, with the aid of forged papers.

Ansari, a former SP MLA from Varanasi (North) has said that despite his attempts to petition district authorities, nothing had happened so far, and he was subject to immense stress.

"There are some forged papers in the possession of Ajay Rai, Congress MLA, through which he is harassing me and my family" Ansari said.

In his letter, he also charged Rai of roaming near his house in a suspicious manner, and said he feared a physical threat.

Ajai Rai, representing the Pindra assembly seat in Varanasi, meanwhile, has trashed the allegations of the SP leader, and said that his property and assets were already probed by the previous Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government. He said he was ready to face any fresh probe.