Samajwadi party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Abu Azmi,an accused in a 2007 land-grabbing and extortion case,was granted anticipatory bail by a sessions court on Thursday,on a bail bond of Rs 15,000. The MIDC police has alleged that Azmi,his brother,Abu Qasim,Jamaluddin Shaikh and Riaz Ahmed had made the complainant,Laik Ahmed Rafiq Shaikh,sign a settlement deed of a property at Mahakali caves in Andheri under duress. Azmi in his bail application had mentioned that he is being implicated in the present offence due to political rivalry and with a view to lower his esteem in the society. Sessions judge P T Chaware accepted the grounds and granted him bail.
