A Delhi Police official, who was suspended for allegedly trying to extort Rs 10 lakh from two Delhi University students by threatening to trap them in a false case of drug peddling, has been granted bail by a court
New Delhi: A Delhi Police official, who was suspended for allegedly trying to extort Rs 10 lakh from two Delhi University students by threatening to trap them in a false case of drug peddling, has been granted bail by a court in New Delhi which said the prosecution's story was 'not fool proof'.
The court released head constable Raj Singh on bail on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and noted that the complainant's statement has been recorded.
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It said rest of the collection of evidence appeared to be documentary in nature i.e. CDR etc., to know the call details/ connectivity between persons involved and their locations.
Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Pandit said that as per the prosecution, the accused was handed over to the police around 6 PM on April 10 and was medically examined at 10 PM. "He was having injuries...No plausible reason forwarded by prosecution as to how these injuries came on Raj Singh.
"Now all these suggest that the story of prosecution is not fool proof/without any inconsistency," the court said. The court also granted anticipatory bail to suspended Assistant Sub Inspector Mukesh, another accused in the case, and directed him to join the probe and not interfere in the investigation or create pressure on the witnesses.
Apart from them, the other two accused in the case are head constable Harjinder and their civilian accomplice Vipin. Advocate Rajesh Sharma, who appeared for Singh, sought bail on the ground that the official was having many enemies on account of his police duty and that he was abducted by the complainant and his companions for murdering him. He argued that when a call was made by an independent person stating that some persons have abducted Singh and there was no escape for the complainant and his companions, they cooked up this story of extortion.
According to the prosecution, the three police officials allegedly picked up two boys, who are pursuing B.Com from a DU college in Janakpuri area on April 10. They allegedly demanded Rs 10 lakh from the two boys, threatening to implicate them in a case under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, it said.
Prosecution said the boys paid the officials Rs 28,000 and told them they would pay another instalment of Rs 50,000 in a few hours. On the evening of April 10, Raj Singh and Vipin came to south Delhi's Satya Niketan to negotiate with the boys.
A scuffle broke out at the spot during which Vipin fled but the men overpowered Raj Singh and brought him to the South Campus Police Station where a case of extortion and criminal conspiracy was registered against the accused, it said.
While Raj Singh, posted in southwest, was attending Police Training School for a course, the other two officials were posted in the vigilance wing of west district. All three have been suspended, pending investigation.
The court, in its order, said the alleged series of acts started at around 10 AM and the complainant and his friend was with the accused at that time and thereafter, they allegedly went to arrange money.
"However, no effort was made to call police (this behaviour is expected from prudent person because it cannot be said that both were afraid since later on also they were having accused Raj Singh and going towards police station to hand him over to police)," the judge said.
The court also raised question on change of vehicle in which Raj Singh was brought to police station by complainant. "No plausible explanation came forward from prosecution as what was the need for this switch over, as Skoda car is more spacious, more speedier than auto rickshaw and is a more effective mode of transportation.
"This makes the explanation of counsel for accused more probable that since applicant Raj Singh was abducted by these persons and a public call was already made informing the make and registration number of this car and someone was giving information to these persons from police channels, they abandoned the car and went towards the auto," it said.
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