Congress legislator Ram Kumar Chaudhary, an accused in the brutal murder of a dalit woman, on Thursday took oath as MLA here in the Himachal Pradesh assembly.
He came from jail to take oath. “Ram Kumar Chaudhary was administered oath as a legislator on Thursday at 11 : 15 am by Speaker Brij Bihar Lal Butail,” said Balbir Tegta, secretary of the Himachal legislative assembly.
Chaudhary was absconding for weeks after police launched a manhunt for him in connection with the murder of a 24-year-old dalit woman, whose dead body was found with the head smashed by a speeding lorry in Panchkula town on November 22.
Chaudhary finally surrendered at the Haryana police in Panchkula earlier this month . Three other men were also arrested .
On December 20, he was declared winner from the Doon constituency as a Congress member, which came to power.
Since an elected MLA has to take oath within sixty days of his election, the court gave him permission to take oath.
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Police brought him from an Ambala jail to Shimla and then took him back.
Chaudhary told reporters, “I am innocent and have been framed.” Earlier this month, Congress had suspended him from the party . “The party has zero tolerance to crimes against women,”said Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu , the state Congress president said after suspending him from the party.