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Chandigarh:Prosecution opposes bail plea, says drug officer may influence witnesses in Graft case
In September 2023, the drug control officer Sunil Chaudhary and the middleman Ashok Narula, a resident of Sector 63 were booked by the police under Sections 7, 8 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act
Submitting that there is sufficient evidence against drug control officer Sunil Chaudhary, arrested in a ₹25,000 graft case, the prosecution opposed his bail plea. The case is now listed for an order for Tuesday.
In September 2023, the drug control officer Sunil Chaudhary and the middleman Ashok Narula, a resident of Sector 63 were booked by the police under Sections 7, 8 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Chaudhary had filed a regular bail plea and the case was listed for Monday before the court of additional sessions judge.
On Monday, the prosecution opposed it stating that there is sufficient evidence against Chaudhary that he has demanded illegal gratification from the complainant, who specifically mentioned his name and on the basis of which an FIR was registered against Narula and Chaudhary.
“Chaudhary is the main accused as he, himself, raised a demand of ₹1 Lakh as illegal gratification and later settled for ₹80,000 and part payment of this amount ₹25,000 was accepted by Narula. Before the magistrate, Narula has admitted that he accepted a bribe on behalf of Chaudhary,” the prosecution argued.
Adding that there are a sufficient number of calls between Narula and Chaudhary, which proves their association.
It was argued that the accused is an influential person and there is every possibility that he will threaten the witnesses and tempered the case record. Seeking dismissal of bail plea, the prosecution argued: “There is every apprehension that if released on bail, he will abscond. The investigation is still pending and vigilance is going to verify the facts with regard to previous complaints/ cases against the accused.”
Chaudhary had surrendered on February 1
The duo was booked on the complaint of chemist Dev Sharan Saha, who complained that Chaudhary and Narula visited his shop for inspection before processing his drugs licence file. Chaudhary claimed that there were many shortcomings in his shop and that it would be sealed, after which the former took Saha’s signature on paper.
Narula then offered to get his file approved in exchange for ₹1 lakh and assured that his shop would not be sealed, the complaint mentions. At last, the amount was settled at ₹80,000. The chemist approached the Vigilance department. They laid a trap and caught Narula red-handed while accepting ₹25,000 bribe as the first instalment on September 27, 2023. However, Chaudhary managed to escape.
He surrendered before the court of the additional chief judicial magistrate on February 1 following the Supreme Court’s direction and has been in custody since then.
