A court in Hubli has ordered issuance of a fresh Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) against Union Minister for Sports and Youth services Uma Bharati for her non-appearance in a criminal case relating to the Idgah maidan issue.
Vipula Pujari, judicial magistrate, first class, passed the order on Thursday regarding the case relating to violent incidents during the agitation for hoisting the national flag at the controversial Idgah maidan in Hubli on August 15, 1994.
The order said that Uma Bharati was alleged to have instigated the people to hoist the national flag at the disputed ground. It said that summons and non-bailable warrants issued in the past had been returned to the court. Uma Bharati is the first in the list of 22 accused persons in the case. The Idgah maidan was at the centre of a controversy then following persistent futile attempts by the BJP as part of its agitation to hoist the national flag but the issue was sorted out amicably a few years ago after a Muslim trust agreed to unfurl the flag itself. Idgah maidan was also in dispute with the city corporation claiming before a court that it belonged to the civic body and had been given on a token rent to enable Muslims to offer prayers. Bureau Report