By IANS,
Chandigarh : After playing hide and seek with Chandigarh police for over four months, Congress councillor Devinder Singh Babla finally surrendered before the police late Monday evening.
Babla, Congress councillor in the city’s municipal corporation and a general secretary of the Congress’ Chandigarh unit, had gone into hiding in August this year and also challenged Chandigarh police to arrest him.
His bail plea had been rejected twice, by a lower court Sep 13 and then by the Punjab and Haryana High court Oct 7.
“We will produce Babla in the court tomorrow (Tuesday) and seek police remand for maximum days,” Satbir Singh, deputy superintendent of police (crime investigation department), told reporters.
Babla is reported to be close to a union minister.
Chandigarh’s mayoral elections are slated Jan 1, 2010. Police say Babla can take part in the elections only if the court grants him permission.
He was booked by the vigilance wing of Chandigarh Police for alleged irregularities in allotment of sheds in the city’s grain market last year when he was chairman of the market committee. Each of the sheds was worth a few million rupees.
Babla was also declared a proclaimed offender in another case of rioting registered against him and other Congress leaders in 1997.