Birju Salla, previously sentenced and later acquitted in a 2017 hijack threat case, has been detained by Mumbai Crime Branch in a Rs 13 crore jewellery cheating case. Accused of not returning gold and diamonds to a jeweller, Salla had been absconding after his anticipatory bail was rejected. Investigation is underway.
Representational Image. File Pic
In a surprising scenario, a businessman who was earlier sentenced to life imprisonment under the Anti-Hijacking Act has been arrested in a 13-crore cheating case. The businessman who was accused of leaving a hijack threat note on a flight was acquitted by the Gujarat High Court.
As per PTI, currently, the businessman has been detained by the crime branch here for allegedly cheating a jeweller in Mumbai, an official said.
Birju Salla wanted in a Ponzi scam in Maharashtra and for allegedly cheating a jeweller by not returning his gold and diamonds worth Rs 13 crore, was detained from an undisclosed location, according to PTI.
Addressing this incident, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ajit Rajian said, "Salla is currently being questioned by the crime branch. He was 'wanted' in a Ponzi scam in Maharashtra. He was earlier convicted (and later acquitted) for threatening to hijack an aircraft. More details will be shared on Thursday."
A police inspector also stated that Salla, who resides in Tardeo, Mumbai, has been absconding in the cheating case registered against him since last month.
Adding that a court in Mumbai recently rejected Salla's application for anticipatory bail, "As per the FIR registered on June 10, Salla allegedly cheated a jeweller to the tune of Rs 13 crore by not returning his gold, silver, and diamonds he had borrowed. He was never arrested in that case. We have detained him from an undisclosed location for questioning.”
"Salla was the first person to be booked under the stringent Anti-Hijacking Act, 2016, for allegedly leaving a note in the business class of the Mumbai-Delhi Jet Airways flight on October 30, 2017. The note, written in English and Urdu, stated, "There are hijackers on board and explosives on the plane." It demanded that the plane be flown to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
While opposing his accusations, the prosecution claimed that Salla prepared the note, hoping Jet Airways would shut down its Delhi operation and that his girlfriend, who worked in the airline's office in Delhi, would return to Mumbai, as per PTI.
Earlier, on June 11, 2019, the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court sentenced Birju Salla to life imprisonment under the Anti-Hijacking Act, 2016.
However, the Gujarat High Court in August 2023 quashed and set aside the NIA court's order, stating that “the trial court sentenced him for the offence of hijacking ‘on the premise of evidence which is tainted with doubt’.”
(With PTI Inputs)
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