'I've received threat calls'

Says Rohit Shekhar, who claims to be the biological son of the senior Congress leader

Veteran Congress leader ND Tiwari will appear before Delhi High Court today and give his blood samples for a DNA test to verify the claims of 31-year-old Rohit Shekhar, who says he is his biological son. The court's joint registrar had earlier asked all three - Tiwari, Shekhar and his mother Ujjwala Sharma - to appear in person June 1 in the court's dispensary to give their blood samples for the requisite DNA test. But Shekhar told MiD DAY that he has been receiving threat calls allegedly from the senior Congress leader's supporters.


Mother and son: Rohit Shekhar, his mother Ujjwala Sharma and ND
Tiwari have been directed to appear in court on June 1. File Pic

Warning
"Rohit started receiving threat calls again from the supporters and goons of Mr Tiwari. For avoiding tension and fatigue he switched off his mobile phone five days ago. If the situation becomes worse then I will ask for security as I had done before. We hope that Mr Tiwari will show up this time and provide his blood samples to the court. The doctor's name has not been revealed yet. And we have to pay the charges for the DNA tests at the Centre for DNA, Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) at Hyderabad," Ujjwala Sharma told MiD DAY.

Awaiting justice
Rohit Shekhar expressed confidence in the court, but expressed doubts about what would transpire on Wednesday. "Till now Mr Tiwari is in Dehradun and it is hard to say if he will comply with the court's orders. He has already paid a huge amount as fine for intentionally delaying the case and wasting precious time of the Honourable Court. His counsel said in court that he is a very busy person and he has a lot of work to do. I hope at least this time he will come to face the truth," Rohit Shekhar told MiD DAY.

"We will again request to the court to provide strict security to all the doctors and us to avoid tampering of the samples. If the process is completed successfully on Wednesday then the results will be out in four weeks," Ujjwala added.

No Relief
The apex court had on May 10 last year dismissed Tiwari's appeal challenging the verdict of the high court to adjudicate the paternity suit. The high court had also rejected Tiwari's plea for dismissal of the petition on the ground that it was filed 31 years after the petitioner was born in order to malign his character. Tiwari, who has served as chief minister of both Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand as well as a central minister, had quit as Andhra Pradesh governor following allegations of his involvement in a sex scandal inside Raj Bhavan.