GHAZIABAD: Former Sahibabad MLA and Congress leader Amar Pal Sharma, who was arrested in connection with the murder of BJP leader Gajendra Bhati, was bailed out by the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday, officials said.
Bhati was murdered on September 2, 2017, in Khoda locality, bordering Delhi.
Commenting on the development, Ghaziabad Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna said that the former MLA could not be a free man despite bail since the National Security Act was invoked against him.
"We are checking when his detention under the NSA is ending. If it is a short period, we will take take legal steps to ensure he is kept behind bars," the SSP said.
Ghaziabad Police had arrested sharpshooters Narendra Gurjar alias Narendra Fauzi and Raju, the two contract killers who shot dead the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in lieu of Rs 10 lakh.
Narendra Gurjar, who had been Sharma security officer, had allegedly confessed that he along with Raju killed Bhati at the behest of the former legislator.
Sharma was represented Sahibabad as Bahujan Samaj Party MLA in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly but joined the Congress after he was denied a ticket in the 2017 Assembly elections. He contested on a Congress ticket but lost the seat to Bharatiya Janata Party's Sunil Sharma.