The Bareilly police in Uttar Pradesh have booked Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Ataur Rehman and three others for allegedly beating up a man and his brother-in-law at his party office in the Baheri Assembly constituency Sunday afternoon. The victims alleged the MLA fired at them when they tried to flee from the party office after being held captive for nearly an hour. The MLA had asked the victims and their relatives to come to his office to resolve a property dispute. The police said they booked the MLA and the three other accused under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 307 (murder attempt). As per the First Information Report (FIR), Anees Ahmed (45), a resident of the Singuinthi village, was having a property with his cousins — Rafique and Raees Ahmed. "On Saturday night, Rafiq, Raees and one of their friends stormed into my house and started beating me. My wife Shazia, 40, tried to save me but they attacked her also. On Sunday, local legislator Ataur Rehman called me and the other group for a settlement at his party office. I was not feeling well as I was injured in the attack last night. I asked my brother-in-law Aasim Khan to go to the party office, where Rafiq, Raees, the MLA and others held him captive. He was stabbed in the chest and beaten badly," Anees told the police. Anees said when his brother-in-law did not return from the party office for a long time, he went there and was beaten up. "We somehow managed to escape but we were fired at," he told the police. The MLA told the police he had indeed called both groups for a settlement but the charges that he had beaten them up, held them captive and fired at them were baseless. "I have called them to my office to resolve the issue and they agreed not to prolong it further. I do not know why Anees lodged the FIR naming me. No one in my office even touched him or his brother-in-law," claimed the SP legislator. "We went to his party office and asked for the CCTV footage but were told that the camera had been lying inoperational for months. Our investigation is going on and we will take action as per our findings," Shrawan Singh, the in-charge of the Baheri police station, told The Indian Express. The police also said both parties decided to bury the hatchet late Sunday night. "Their mutual consent not to fight on the issue has nothing to do with the FIR. We conducted a medical examination of Anees and Aasim before lodging the FIR. Our investigation will continue and none, regardless of the post, will be spared if found guilty," added Shrawan Singh.
