Chandigarh, September 21
Haryana’s former minister Om Prakash Jain and former Chief Parliamentary Secretary Zile Ram Sharma today surrendered before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Panchkula in a case of abetting a former sarpanch’s suicide. Jain’s personal assistant Rajinder Sharma also surrendered with them.

The two had been on the run since their bail pleas were turned down by the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Supreme Court.

Speaking to The Tribune, the two claimed they had arrived in the city yesterday morning with the intention of surrendering before the CBI court. But CBI sleuths had laid a “trap” on the court premises to arrest the two before they could surrender.

“We arrived at the court around 11.30 am yesterday but noticed CBI sleuths on the premises. We drove away realising we would be arrested before we could surrender,” said Jain. The two spent the next few hours driving around in the city and “hiding” at a relative’s place before making another attempt in the evening.

“Around 4.30 pm, we arrived again at the court but found that the judge, Atul Marya, had left for a meeting at the high court. We had to drop our plan of surrender a second time,” said Sharma.

Panchkula, September 21
The CBI court today remanded Haryana MLAs Om Prakash Jain and Zile Ram Sharma, and Jain’s PA Rajinder Sharma in 14-day judicial custody. The three were later shifted to the Central Jail in Ambala.

The MLAs had come early to the court premises covered in blankets. “Around 7.45 am, the guard heard a knock at the rear gate. The two men clad in blankets told him they were MLAs and had come to surrender,” said a court official

They were asked to enter from the main entrance.

The two MLAs sat in the corner of the courtroom to avoid being noticed. Their supporters surrounded them as they were led into the court jail to wait for the prison van to transport them to the Ambala jail. The three were taken to the jail in the evening.

The MLAs have been accused of abetting a former sarpanch’s suicide. Karam Singh, a former sarpanch of Kambopura village in Karnal, was found dead on June 7, 2011, a day after he had lodged a complaint against Jain and Sharma, for allegedly duping him and his relatives of around Rs 13 lakh.