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Mayor defers Ambala MC House meet seeking arrest of councillor accused of murder
Development agendas took a back seat as mayor Shakti Rani Sharma adjourned the Ambala MC House meeting, demanding arrest of Rubi Sauda, an HDF councillor accused of murder
Keeping aside the development agendas and discussion on the budget for the financial year 2022-23, mayor Shakti Rani Sharma on Monday adjourned the fourth municipal corporation (MC) House meeting, demanding an arrest of Rubi Sauda, the Haryana Democratic Front (HDF) councillor who has been accused of murder.
The meeting was deferred till further notice around an hour after it commenced amid protests by the victim’s family outside the meeting venue.
Several councillors from Haryana Jan Chetna Party (HJCP) and Congress lit candles inside the venue demanding “justice” for the victim.
Sauda was attending her first meeting since winning in the elections held in December 2020 from ward no 14. Taking note of her presence, the mayor said, “I will not allow an accused to attend the House meeting.”
Later, the chair sought a reply from executive officer Jarnail Singh on her letter concerning action against the member only to get an unsatisfactory reply.
Sharma expressed her disappointment at the lack of action to additional superintendent of police (ASP) Pooja Dabla, present at the meeting, and submitted an arrest warrant.
Sharma said, “There is an arrest warrant issued against Ruby Sauda. I’ve already written to the concerned officials to clarify the case but there has been no reply. I sought an answer from the ASP at the meeting but she escaped.”
Speaking on the same, superintendent of police Jashandeep Singh Randhawa said, “There is no need to arrest the accused member as she has already joined the investigation. Further to verify a few facts, we’ve applied for a lie detector test on her. The warrant submitted to the ASP is old and has already been cancelled.”
The case
The HDF councillor, and her nine family members, are accused in the murder of Arun, a resident of Govardhan Nagar, who died following a violent clash that broke out over feeding pigs in the middle of the road in February last year.
It was also later discovered that the victim’s family members were BJP supporters and had backed a JJP candidate contesting against Sauda.
BJP councillors back Sauda
After remaining “missing” for a year, Sauda appeared before the divisional commissioner last week accompanied by the nominated councillor from the BJP, Sandeep Sachdeva supposedly to save her membership.
Fellow BJP members also opposed the call, saying her suspension case is pending before divisional commissioner Renu Phulia.
“It is evident how the mayor and her party are trying to hide their failure to develop the city in the last one-and-a-half years. Sauda’s criminal case is under investigation and there is no arrest warrant issued against her,” Sachdeva claimed.
Sources said the saffron party is banking on Sauda’s vote in the House to secure the post of senior deputy mayor or deputy mayor, elections for which are pending.
Municipal commissioner Virender Lather said the next house meeting will be called at the earliest to discuss and pass the budget.
