The Jharkhand High Court today pulled up the state police for its failure in arresting JMM MLA Sita Soren in connection with her role in the alleged abduction of a witness in the Rajya Sabha horse trading case.
Hearing the case in which Sita Soren is one of the accused, the division bench of Chief Justice Prakash Chandra Tatia and Justice Jaya Roy asked police how they had failed to find the whereabouts of the MLA, whom they have provided with security personnel.
The bench directed the police officer investigating the assault charge against Sita Soren to appear before it on the next date.
Sita Soren, the daughter-in-law of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha supremo Shibu Soren, has been evading arrest after an FIR was filed against her alleging that she had assaulted her private secretary late last year for being a witness in the case.
The judges also asked the CBI to complete the probe into the case and submit a report on April 2, the next date for hearing. The CBI was earlier ordered to submit its report on March 5.
The probe agency has already conducted raids in the premises of at least 23 MLAs in connection with the horse trading case, which was registered after cash had been seized from a vehicle said to be owned by a relative of an independent candidate, in Ranchi on the day Rajya Sabha polls was scheduled.
Later, the Election Commission had scrapped the polling and held elections for the two seats afresh.
