Indore:

A sessions court here on Friday issued an arrest warrant against local businessman Akshay Bam and his father in a 17-year-old attempt to murder case.

Akshay Bam was recently in the news for withdrawing his nomination from the Indore Lok Sabha seat as a Congress candidate and later joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Talking to reporters, public prosecutor Abhijit Singh Rathore said Akshay Bam and his father were supposed to appear before the sessions court in the alleged attempt to murder case, but their lawyer moved an application in the court seeking exemption from personal appearance for his clients.

Abhijit Rathore said that as per the application, Akshay Bam was out of the town for “essential work”, while doctors advised rest to his father because of poor health.

The session’s court rejected the father-son duo’s application and issued an arrest warrant against them. It also ordered the police to arrest them and present them before the court by July 8, he said.

According to the public prosecutor, the court noted that both the accused did not appear before it even after being ordered to do so on Friday and they were not currently on bail in the case of section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

On May 3, a sessions court had refused to grant anticipatory bail to Akshay Bam and his father in the alleged attempt to murder case.

On April 24, a Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) from Indore had ordered the addition of section 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC in the FIR lodged against Akshay Bam and his father for allegedly assaulting a man over a land dispute 17 years ago. The court had also ordered the father-son duo to appear before the session’s court on May 10.

Just five days after the order, Akshay Bam had taken the step of withdrawing his name as the Congress candidate from Indore.

Akshay Bam was named as the Congress candidate for the Indore Lok Sabha seat on March 23.

Police officials said an FIR was registered against Akshay Bam, his father Kantilal and others for allegedly attacking a person named Yunus Patel over a land dispute on October 4, 2007.

The FIR was filed under sections 294 (abusive speech), 323 (assault), 506 (criminal intimidation) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), he said.

Patel alleged that during the incident, Satvir Singh, who runs a security agency, fired at him with a 12 bore gun at the behest of Akshay’s father Kantilal.

The accused Satvir Singh later died while two other accused in the case, Sohan alias Sonu and Manoj, have been on the run. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)