Delhi court denies bail to head constable held by anti-graft body

POLICE’S COUNSEL RAJIV MOHAN SAID THAT HE WILL BE MOVING A REVISION PETITION AGAINST THE COURT’S DECISION

A Delhi court on Tuesday denied bail to Delhi Police head constable, Anil, who had been arrested over the weekend by the anti-corruption branch (ACB) on charges of extorting money from a scrap dealer in north-east Delhi’s Sonia Vihar area.

His detention had resulted in a face-off between government and police, with the latter registering a kidnapping case on behalf of the head constable’s wife. The police also sent ACB officials a notice to join the criminal investigation.

This week, the accused was brought before the court of additional sessions judge Poonam Chaudhary, with Delhi Police being represented by advocate Rajiv Mohan. The judge, after perusing arguments from government and cops, said “bail denied”.

Mohan said that he will be moving a revision before Delhi high court on Wednesday to appeal against the court’s decision.

According to ACB, Anil was arrested after a scrap dealer made a complaint on the anti-corruption helpline 1031. He claimed that the accused, stationed at Sonia Vihar police station, had extorted ` 20,000 from him and threatening to implicate him in false cases if he didn’t comply.

Acting on this information, an ACB team laid a trap in Bhajanpura, where the complainant lured Anil to come by promising to pay him the money he allegedly demanded. Anil was reportedly in the company of other policemen when he arrived, but they managed to escape.

In the interim, Anil’s wife’s through Delhi Police registered a case for kidnapping at the Sonia Vihar PS against “unknown persons.”

The accused had been produced before a city court, which had granted ACB three-day custody.