Khanpur MLA Umesh Kumar, who was arrested earlier on Monday, was granted bail by a Haridwar court. Kumar has allegedly opened fire at ex-MLA Pranav Singh Chamipon's office. A feud between former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion and Independent MLA Umesh Kumar took a violent turn on Sunday. While Champion was arrested on Sunday, police arrested MLA Umesh Kumar on Monday. Along with him, his four supporters have also been apprehended.
A video of the incident shows Champion, along with his supporters, firing several shots at Kumar's office in broad daylight. They were seen waving pistols, throwing stones, and hurling abuses. Similar actions were committed by MLA Umesh Kumar and his supporters at Pranav Singh's office.
Pranav Champion's lawyer claimed that the police did not take proper action against the MLA and imposed bailable sections. MLA Umesh Kumar got bail on two sureties of Rs 30,000 each. While earlier, after appearing in the court, former MLA Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion was sent to 14 days of judicial custody.
Who is Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion?
Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion won the two consecutive Assembly elections from the Khanpur constituency of Uttarakhand in 2012 and 2017. In the 2012 Uttarakhand Assembly polls, Kunwar Pranav Singh won the seat as a Congress candidate by defeating Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Kulveer Singh with a margin of 2,831 votes.
In the 2017 Uttarakhand Assembly Election, Kunwar Pranav Singh retained the seat as a BJP candidate by defeating Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Mufti Riyasat Ali with a margin of 13,735 votes.
However, the BJP decided to field Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion's wife, Kunwarani Devyani Singh, in the 2022 Uttarakhand Assembly polls. The constituency was won by independent candidate Umesh Kumar by defeating BSP's Ravindra Singh by 6,852 votes. Champion's wife Devyani Singh stood third with 30,834 votes (27.18% of the votes).