The Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday demanded that television journalist Rajdeep Sardesai be taken in police custody and produced in the House on October 27.

The move comes after one of the Assembly committees held him guilty of breach of privilege and contempt for his failure to appear before it.

The demand follows an interim report of the House Inquiry Committee, which had probed a story telecast by CNN-IBN on the basis of a sting operation earlier this year.

Three MLAs, including a then minister, were shown purportedly taking bribes and allegedly admitting to involvement in activities like hawala transactions.

The 11-member committee, headed by Samajwadi Party MLA P K Roy, held Sardesai, editor-in-chief of the channel, guilty of breach of privilege and contempt of the House.

The committee recommended 'suitable action' against Sardesai.

However, senior BJP member Narendra Kumar Singh Gaur, a member of the committee, differed with the report and said the MLAs were prima facie guilty and should be disqualified.

When contacted, Sardesai said his lawyers were handling the issue. He maintained that his channel had given all details to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly.