E-Paper
HC stays arrest of Karnal mandi secretary till November 28
During a hearing on a plea filed by her seeking anticipatory bail, the court of justice Sanjay Vashisth while staying the arrest till the next date, observed that the issue of joining the investigation will be examined after considering the reply of the other respondents
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Thursday stayed the arrest of Karnal Market Committee secretary Asha Rani till November 28 in the alleged paddy scam during the procurement season that ended on November 15.
Rani is accused of having failed to discharge her duties effectively in the process of issuing gate passes for entry into the mandi.
Her counsel argued that there is no complaint of any monetary loss suffered by anyone and merely on the basis of an allegation of improper discharge of duties, an offence of fraud, cheating, or similar cannot be registered, the court order read.
During a hearing on a plea filed by her seeking anticipatory bail, the court of justice Sanjay Vashisth while staying the arrest till the next date, observed that the issue of joining the investigation will be examined after considering the reply of the other respondents.
The Karnal police will file a status report on the probe conducted so far. Earlier, Rani’s anticipatory bail was rejected by a local court.
On the other hand, Pankaj Tulli, who was posted as supervisor at the mandi, died during a treatment at PGIMER, Chandigarh on Thursday. Following his arrest earlier this month as an accused in one of the cases, Tulli was lodged at Karnal district jail, from where he was shifted to civil hospital for treatment, but referred to Chandigarh on Tuesday, sources said.
Superintendent of police (SP) Ganga Ram Punia said that a total of six cases have been registered and an SIT headed by DSP Rajiv Kumar is investigating the cases.
“Preliminary probe has found that the gate passes were issued despite no such actual arrival of paddy in the mandis. Apart from the accused and other stakeholders involved, we have enquired from over a dozen farmers. It came to light that the farmers received full payment in their accounts and the extra amount was taken by the commission agents,” he added.
The police have arrested two rice millers in connection with a case lodged at Assandh police station, while two private individuals and a mandi supervisor were arrested for a case registered at Karnal city police station.
The latest sixth case has been filed against two rice millers, Ashok Kumar and Sanjay Kumar, based on a complaint by the district manager, Haryana State Warehousing Corporation (HSWC).
