Court extends SP MLA Irfan Solanki’s bail hearing to December 13

New Delhi: A court on Friday extended the hearing on the bail application by Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Irfan Solanki in connection with an arson case.

The case pertains to the alleged torching of a property in a land dispute case. During the hearing on the bail petition of the SP MLA, the Kanpur sessions court posted the matter for the next hearing on December 13.

“The prosecution, during its argument, requested the court to extend the date for hearing the bail plea and the court accepted the same. December 13 was fixed as the next date for hearing the bail application,” Naresh Tripathi, counsel for Solanki, said.

He said the case against the MLA and his brother was baseless. “We will bring them out of jail soon,” he added.
The SP MLA and his brother Rizwan Solanki were arrested on December 2. They were sent on judicial remand.
Before being arrested, Irfan had released a video that went viral on social media.

In the video, Irfan thanked 11 SP MLAs, including the party’s national president Akhilesh Yadav and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Satyadev Pachauri for “helping him and understanding his family’s concerns”.

Seeking help from the people of the constituency, Irfan reportedly said in the video that he should be punished if he is the culprit.

The case in question dates back to November 7 when a thatched hut, built over a plot in the Defense Colony of Kanpur, caught fire under mysterious circumstances. However, the fire was brought under control by the family which resided there, with help from locals.

On the complaint of one Baby Naaz, the UP police booked 24 people including Irfan Solanki and his brother Rizwan under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, for allegedly setting ablaze her house following the dispute over land in the KDA Defense Colony of Kanpur’s Jajmau.

The house was reportedly owned by the complainant’s father.