Summary:
A WEEK after a local court issued an arrest warrant following his conviction by the Allahabad High Court in a murder case of five persons that dates back to 1997, BJP MLA Ashok Singh Chandel and four co-accused surrendered in court Monday. The case dates back to January 26, 1997 when five persons, were shot dead in Subhash Market area in City Kotwali police station area in Hamirpur as a fallout of political rivalry. This was outside the court and it is not possible to discriminate among the supporters and the common people who had come to the court for their work.”Chandel, along with four co-accused, walked into the local court and surrendered. The court sent them to jail. AdvertisingAsked if the police were unaware of the movement of the convicts and if it was a violation of CrPc section 144 which has been in force due to polls, Hamirpur Superintendent of Police Hemraj Meena said, “We had put up barricades following the information that the MLA and other accused may surrender, but we could not know when how he reached the court.”Denying reports that the MLA and the others reached the court in a fleet of vehicles amid sloganeering by his supporters, the SP said, “This is not true, it would have been a violation of section 144..