Police had been raiding possible hideouts of the MP in Sitapur, Lucknow and other cities to nab him. The SP claimed that the police had served a notice at Rathore’s Sitapur residence on January 21, asking him to give his clarification over the allegations, but he failed to turn up. “We carried out the raid at his residence around 1.30 pm after coming to know that he was holding a press conference to give clarification to media over allegations levelled against him,” the SP said.Earlier, the MP’s lawyer requested the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court to grant him anticipatory bail as the case had been registered after four years’ delay. ADG Vinod Kumar Shahi urged the court to turn down the petition. The court rejected the plea and directed Rathore to surrender before the Sitapur district and sessions court within two weeks. The Sitapur MP/MLA court had also dismissed an anticipatory bail plea of the MP on January 23. After his arrest, the MP refused to respond to queries over the charges. He said that it was not proper to discuss the matter since it was sub-judice. Meanwhile, UP Congress president Ajay Rai demanded a judicial inquiry into the allegations.
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