LUCKNOW: Putting an end to the suspense over his whereabouts, Sahara chief Subrata Roy surrendered to a local court here on Friday. He has been taken into custody by the UP police.
His surrender came after the state raided a couple of places looking for Roy on Thursday following the Supreme Court’s non-bailable warrant issued against him for not appearing in the apex court despite its instructions. Roy has been facing a trial by the apex court over his alleged failure to return investors’ money.
Noted jurist and Roy’s advocate Ram Jethmalani told the court that Roy was not absconding and surrendered before the court. He had declared a short while ago that he is “not absconding”.
In a dramatic turn of events, Roy said he was ready to “unconditionally follow” the apex court directions and had gone out to consult “a panel of doctors”. He also claimed he had told the police to do their duty.
Through a statement signed by him, Roy appealed to the Supreme Court to allow him to be with his “ailing mother under house arrest till March 3, 2014”, while adding that he was ready to reach Delhi even today, if court wants him to do so.
Roy said he was a “law abiding citizen” and not the one who will abscond, adding there was no direction against him in the Supreme Court order on August 31, 2012 and December 5, 2012, (with regard to depositing over Rs 24,000 crore with Sebi for refund to bondholders of two Sahara firms) and he was still “facing all this”.
