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CU case: Contradictions surface pertaining to arrest of co-accused Rankaj Verma
Mohali police oppose his bail, say Rankaj’s photo was displayed on the number from which the CU student received numerous phone calls and messages
Mohali: The response submitted by the police in a Kharar court on Tuesday, while opposing the bail plea of Rankaj Verma, a co-accused arrested in the Chandigarh University video-leak case, has raised several contradictions regarding his arrest.
Submitting its reply in the court, Kharar City police said that Rankaj’s picture was displayed on the number from which the girl accused in the case got numerous phone calls and messages. The police claimed to have received the CFSL report of the mobile phones recovered from co-accused Sanjeev Singh.
Officials averred that the scrutiny of the report was underway which would clear the role of all the accused, including Rankaj, in the case.
While opposing the bail plea of Rankaj, the police claimed that the latter was nominated in the FIR based on the revelations made by co-accused Sunny Mehta. However, Sunny Mehta, on an earlier occasion, had denied having any connection with Rankaj before court. Harvinder Singh Johal, counsel for Rankaj, claimed that he himself contacted the police after his picture was widely circulated .
“After receiving a call from a friend who told Rankaj that his picture was being portrayed as the person involved in the infamous CU case, being an innocent person, Rankaj himself reported the matter to the Dhalli Police Station, Shimla. Rankaj in his complaint stated that he had no knowledge about the incident and he didn’t know the accused girl or Mehta.
The daily diary report (DDR) pertaining to the same was registered on September 18, 2022, at the Dhalli Police Station,” Johal submitted in the court.
He added that after receiving the complaint, the Shimla Police informed the Mohali Police that Rankaj was innocent.
“Rankaj was not arrested by the Shimla Police and was taken by the police officials from Dhalli with the intent of investigation but later he was arrested in Mohali,” submitted Johal.
Rankaj’s counsel in the plea said when the police produced all four accused for remand on September 29, Sanjeev raised his hand and admitted before the court that Rankaj had no association in the case, he was innocent and must be let off.
He claimed that even during the interrogation of all accused together, the other three accused had refused to identify Rankaj, establishing his innocence.
Counsel writes to CM, DGP
Counsel of Rankaj has also sought time from the Punjab DGP and the chief minister (CM).
In a written communique to them, Johal claimed that an innocent person was not only defamed across the country but was also suffering harassment and jail term for the last 18 days without any fault. “His only fault is that he played the role of a good Samaritan and came forward with the intent of helping the Punjab Police in a high-profile investigation,” read the applications submitted with the CM Office and the Punjab DGP.
The court reserved the order on the bail plea for October 6.
Earlier, a Kharar court on Monday extended the police remand of Sanjeev Singh, the army man arrested in connection with the Chandigarh University video leak, for three more days due to pending interrogation.
On Saturday, while Sanjeev was sent to two-day remand, the other three accused, the female student who is accused of leaking objectionable videos of herself and her fellow hostellers, and two men from Himachal Pradesh—Sunny Mehta and Rankaj Verma—were sent to judicial custody.
