By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Haridwar, 29 Oct: Actress Urmila Sanawar will continue to remain in jail for the time being as the court concerned in Haridwar today deferred the hearing on her bail application in a case involving allegations of extortion and criminal intimidation registered at Ranipur police station. The bail plea, filed by her counsel before the court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM), could not be heard today after the police sought additional time to submit its report. The court has now fixed 31 October as the next date for hearing. Public Prosecutor Dharmendra Arya confirmed the development.
According to the officials, the court had earlier directed Ranipur police to submit the investigation report related to the case after Sanawar’s counsel moved the bail application. The matter was scheduled to come up for hearing today, but the proceedings were deferred after the police requested more time to place the required report before the court.
Sanawar is currently lodged in Haridwar jail after being arrested in connection with a complaint lodged by Deepika Rathore, daughter of former Jwalapur MLA Suresh Rathore. According to police, the complaint was registered at Ranipur police station on 24 October. Deepika Rathore has alleged that Sanawar had made objectionable and defamatory remarks against her and her family on social media platforms.
The complaint had further alleged that Sanawar used WhatsApp calls to pressure the family into transferring ownership of property associated with Ravidas Dham in her favour and demanded Rs 5 crores. It was also alleged that threats to kill family members were also issued if the demand was not met.
Following the complaint, police registered a case and initiated an investigation. On 25 October, a Haridwar Police team had conducted a raid at Sanawar’s residence in Saharanpur and arrested her. She was subsequently brought to Haridwar and produced before a court after the completion of legal formalities.
The court later remanded her to 14 days’ judicial custody and had ordered that she be lodged at Roshnabad District Jail. Thereafter, her counsel filed a bail application seeking her release. While the application was listed for hearing today 29, the police request for additional time to submit the investigation report resulted in the matter being adjourned.
Public Prosecutor Dharmendra Arya said the court had postponed the hearing on Sanawar’s bail application and would now take up the matter on the next scheduled date.
It may be recalled that Sanawar had earlier attracted widespread public and political attention in Uttarakhand after releasing on social media an alleged audio recording of a conversation between herself and former MLA Suresh Rathore concerning the Ankita Bhandari murder case. The audio clip had triggered considerable political controversy as it contained references to the alleged “VIP” angle in the case. Following the release of the recording, opposition parties and several social organisations had raised questions and intensified their criticism of the government. The Ankita Bhandari case is currently being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). It may also be added that Sanawar also faces a defamation case filed against her by Dushyant Gautam, who was then the BJP leader in charge of the party affairs in Uttarakhand and has now been appointed as Governor of Sikkim.
In addition, she also faces a CBI inquiry in respect of her allegations levelled in Ankita Bhandari case and has given her consent for a Narco test.
Meanwhile, the investigation in the extortion and threat case against Sanawar is continuing, and the outcome of the bail proceedings will now depend on the court hearing scheduled for 31 October.
