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Provide phone records of cops who arrested Chandigarh dentist: HC
The Chandigarh-based dentist has claimed in court that when, on the directions of the HC , he went to the District Courts Complex at 10am on January 7 and got an affidavit notarised to show his presence in the cheating case, he was arrested by police before he could appear before a magistrate
The Punjab and Haryana high court has asked the Chandigarh Police to procure call details, along with location details, of four cops who arrested a city-based dentist on January 7.
The court was hearing a plea by dentist Mohit Dhawan, who is seeking anticipatory bail in a 2020 cheating case.
The dentist has been claiming that he was being harassed at the behest of former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special director Rakesh Asthana and former Chandigarh DGP TS Luthra.
He has claimed in court that when, on the directions of the high court, he went to the District Courts Complex at 10am on January 7 and got an affidavit notarised to show his presence in the cheating case, he was arrested by police before he could appear before a magistrate.
However, UT’s counsel has contended that Dhawan was arrested in connection with another FIR registered against him. While Dhawan claimed he was arrested from the court complex in the morning, the UT police claim he was arrested at 6.30pm and from behind the Sector-43 ISBT, not the court complex.
The court also sought details of CCTV coverage at Chandigarh District Courts as Dhawan’s counsel claimed that the area from where he was picked up was not under CCTV coverage. The footage given in high court shows Dhawan with cops in the evening, while his morning presence was not recorded.
Meanwhile, responding to the explanation sought by the HC bench from registrar judicial on providing a copy of the CCTV footage to the dentist’s counsel, the HC administration submitted that the persons dealing with the matter misunderstood the order and provided a copy, and that there was no mala fide on their part. UT’s counsel objected to these submissions, to which the court asked him to file an application.
The court also asked the dentist to appear before the magistrate to answer questions pertaining to the FIR registered against him. The matter will now be taken up on February 24.
The dentist was booked on September 21, 2020, on the complaint of a Nairobi woman, who had accused him of cheating her when she visited his clinic in 2017-2018 to get dental implants. While his plea for anticipatory bail was under consideration of court, UT police had arrested him on January 7 in another cheating case.
