Sleazy video: Cops want FIR scrapped, say Chadha, woman had ‘love affair’
CKD ROW Investigation says act recorded on video was consensual; CCTV footage was circulated by an employee of Chadha’s hotel
AMRITSAR : Police here on Wednesday filed a report to a local court seeking cancellation of an FIR of sexual harassment lodged against Chief Khalsa Diwan (CKD)’S since-ousted president Charanjit Singh Chadha and his son on the complaint of a Ckd-run school’s woman principal. The case stemmed from a viral video in which Chadha is seen in an “objectionable” position with her; but police probe says they were in a consensual relationship, thus Chadha “cannot be held guilty”.
Chadha and his son, Inderpreet Singh Chadha, who later committed suicide, were booked by the Islamabad area police on December 28 last year — Chadha under sections 354 and 354A (assault and sexual harassment) and Inderpreet under 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. Inderpreet killed himself on January 3, and the woman is among those accused of abetting his suicide.
The cancellation report was filed in the court of local magistrate Arjun Singh on the orders of a special investigation team (SIT) led by inspector general of police (IG), crime, LK Yadav.
‘CONSENSUAL’ ACT RECORDED AT HOTEL
In the report, a copy of which is with HT, the SIT says the woman used to go to Chadha’s hotel HK Clarks Inn to meet him. On June 20, she went there of her own volition and their intimate act got recorded in a CCTV camera at Chadha’s office, it says.
The next day, the video was recorded from a computer screen onto a phone by hotel employee Gursewak Singh, who later circulated it, it is alleged. Gursewak is also among those booked for abetting the suicide of Chadha’s son.
“Chadha and the principal were aware of their recorded video before it went viral on the internet, and (they) tried their best to get the video deleted,” says the cancellation plea. It says she “took money and gifts” from him.
“After hearing phonecall recordings of the principal and Chadha, it has been proved that both were in a love affair and therefore Chadha can’t be held guilty,” it says. After the video went viral, the principal got Chadha and his son booked; but “investigation finds that the case was frivolous”.
IG Yadav, when contacted, said he had instructed the Amritsar police a few days ago to file the cancellation report as investigation revealed “Chadha and his son were innocent” in the case.
Chadha was a long-time head of the CKD, a Sikh socio-religious charity that runs educational institutes.