The Rampur MP/MLA court has ordered the Superintendent of Police to arrest veteran Bollywood actress and politician Jaya Prada. The Police official has been asked to form a special team to arrest the former MP and present her before the court. The development came after actress-turned-politician Jaya Prada skipped the non-bailable warrant for the seventh time.
As per the IANS report, senior prosecution officer Amarnath Tiwari said that the former MP did not reach the court on Monday (12th February) for a hearing even after a non-bailable warrant had been issued against her for the seventh time. The next hearing in the case will now take place on 27th February.
Lalitha Rani Rao popularly known as Jaya Prada worked predominantly in Hindi and Tamil films during the ’70s, ’80s and early ’90s. She joined the Telugu Desham Party (TDP) in 1994 and was nominated as a Rajya Sabha member by the party. Later she went on to win the Lok Sabha elections of 2004 and 2009 from Uttar Pradesh on a Samajwadi Party ticket. In 2019, she joined the BJP.
She is said to be ‘absconding’ in two cases related to violation of the code of conduct. Notably, both cases of violation of the code of conduct against her are related to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. FIRs were registered against her for the violation of the election code of conduct in Swar and Kemri police stations. Back then, she had contested elections from the Rampur seat on the BJP ticket. She had lost the election.
In the FIR registered in the Swar Police station, she is accused of inaugurating a road in Noorpur village despite the Moral code of conduct. While in the case registered at Kemri police station, she is accused of making objectionable remarks in a public meeting organised in Pipliya Mishra village.
In both cases, the police had completed the investigation and filed charge sheets in the court. The hearing of these cases is going on in the MP-MLA Special Court (Magistrate Trial). She had skipped several dates for the hearing after which non-bailable warrants were issued against her in both cases.
However, this is not the first time that Jaya Prada courted controversy. Last year, she was found guilty in an old case by a court in Chennai. The court sentenced her to six months in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000.
According to reports, Jaya Prada faced accusations of failing to pay the Employees State Insurance (ESI) contributions to the workers of her theatre. The former MP reportedly acknowledged the allegations and pledged to settle the outstanding dues, while seeking dismissal of the case. However, the court rejected her appeal and imposed both a fine and imprisonment.