Mayawati orders arrest of party leader

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati ordered the arrest of an influential Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Saturday night after his involvement in a murder case was confirmed.

Intezar Abdi "Bobby" was earlier stripped of the status of a minister of state Friday after police discovered his involvement in a murder case.

Special Director General of Police (law and order) Brij Lal said Bobby was taken into custody late Saturday evening from his residence.

"The arrest followed startling revelations made by two professional shooters arrested by Delhi Police in connection with the murder of Saif Haider Saifi, a clerk in the state social welfare department," he said.

The shooters named Bobby as the man who paid them money to gun down Saifi, he said.

Just as the CD with recorded statements of the shooters was handed over by Delhi Police to the state government, Mayawati ordered the arrest of Bobby.

Bobby was the chairman of the state Sugarcane Institute with the status of a minister.

He was the key accused in the vandalism and arson at the residence of Uttar Pradesh Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi in 2009.