HALDWANI: It is not the first time that Girdharilal Sahu is in the news for wrong reasons in Uttarakhand. Sahu’s links with the Bharatiya Janata Party is no secret as his wife Rekha Arya is women empowerment minister in the Trivendra Singh Rawat-led BJP government.
In fact, Sahu is said to be instrumental in Arya switching allegiance from the Congress to join the BJP last year ahead of the trust vote against the Harish Rawat government.
Sahu’s political link came out in the open in August 2016 when BJP legislators Rajesh Shukla and Rajkumar Thukral accompanied him to the Kichha Kotwali where he was facing charges of fraud. The two MLAs extended support to Sahu, saying he was a victim of conspiracy.
A property dealer, Sahu faces 25 cases in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly under Sections 420 (fraud), 67 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code.
Last year, several cases were lodged against him at the Kichha Kotwali after some people alleged that he sold a plot to many buyers. In August last year, the high court dismissed a petition seeking stay on Sahu’s arrest.
KR Pandey, who is investigating the case of Sahu in which he is alleged to have cheated his servant Naresh Gangwar, confirmed that Sahu’s history sheet was ‘open’ in Bareilly. Sahu, who earlier told this reporter that he didn’t have criminal antecedents, didn’t respond to phone calls.
{{/usCountry}}KR Pandey, who is investigating the case of Sahu in which he is alleged to have cheated his servant Naresh Gangwar, confirmed that Sahu’s history sheet was ‘open’ in Bareilly. Sahu, who earlier told this reporter that he didn’t have criminal antecedents, didn’t respond to phone calls.
{{/usCountry}}Advocate and social activist Chandrashekhar Kargeti said it was clear that Sahu enjoyed political patronage, which led to rise in his illegal activities. “Such people are involved in frauds and land grab, and get patronage from the government. The fact that his wife is a minister makes him all the more influential.”
But BJP general secretary Gajraj Singh Bisht said despite Sahu being Rekha Arya’s husband, there was no political patronage. “The law is same for everyone and we urge the administration to go into the depth of the matter.”
Congress leader Sumit Hridyesh, however, alleged Sahu had political patronage from the BJP and the government must come clean by initiating strict proceedings against him.