Former Haryana Chief Minister and INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala
Former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, 79, today surrendered at Tihar Jail, after the Delhi High Court cancelled his bail and ordered him to discontinue his political rallies.
He was convicted in January last year for running a graft-laden scheme to recruit teachers for government institutions when he was in office in 1999. Mr Chautala, the chief of the Indian National Lok Dal or INLD, was sentenced to 10 years in jail.
The INLD chief arrived at the jail around 8:45 pm in a white SUV accompanied by a number of supporters. He was sent to jail number two where he was lodged earlier. A top Tihar official said 7 pm is the "lock out time" and since Mr Chautala came over an hour after the deadline ended, the matter would be reported to the court.
Mr Chautala, who was granted bail on medical grounds in May last year, had been actively holding rallies to campaign for the assembly elections in Haryana on October 15.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had sought cancellation of his bail and urged the court to bring forward his surrender date, which was earlier fixed for October 17.
On Friday, the Delhi High Court had asked jail authorities to take Mr Chautala to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences or AIIMS after his surrender today, if they considered it necessary.
Mr Chautala was first granted interim bail on May 21, 2013, and had been getting extension of bail on the ground that he was admitted in the intensive care unit of Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon due to poor health. The hospital, however, discharged him recently; since then, Mr Chautala had been campaigning.
"If he is well enough to travel, well enough to address rallies, then he is well enough to surrender," the court had said.