Rajeev Kumar files for pre-arrest bail in Calcutta HC
NEW DELHI: The legal battle between Rajeev Kumar and the CBI has once again reached the Calcutta High Court, 10 days after it had lifted the former Kolkata Police Commissioner's arrest shield in the Saradha chit fund case. Kumar's lawyer on Monday filed a fresh anticipatory bail plea before the High Court in Kolkata, where the matter will be heard today.
Kumar's lawyer, Gopal Halder said that the fresh bail plea has been filed under Section 438 of the CRPC and will be heard by a bench comprising of Justices Sahidullah Munshi and Subhasis Dasgupta.
On September 13, the High Court had dismissed the plea seeking quashing of the summons and removed the protection from arrest granted to Kumar till then. Since then, Kumar has not been seen in public, with the CBI pouring in resources to trace his location.
The central probe agency has formed several special teams to locate the IPS officer and has not been able to find his whereabouts for the last 10 days. These roving teams have been visiting various locations in Kolkata where the former Kolkata top cop is suspected to be. Officials from the Central Bureau of Investigation also visited Kumar's official residence at 34, Park Street multiple times and even questioned his wife about his whereabouts last Saturday.
The CBI'S request for a nonbailable warrant (NBW) for Kumar's arrest has been denied by three separate courts in West Bengal and now so has Kumar's pleas for anticipatory bail so far. The Alipore Sessions court had on Saturday dismissed Kumar's anticipatory bail plea, observing that he needed to join the probe to assist investigators in the Saradha chit fund case.
However, Halder has consistently maintained that his client is willing to join the probe as soon as he returns for his leave.
According to Kumar's lawyer, his client had sent a communication to the CBI on August 28, letting the agency know that he would not be available between September 1 and September 25, but would join the probe after that. Halder said that the agency kept issuing summons to Kumar despite being aware of the communique.