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Sector-37 house grab case: Chandigarh Police told to provide security to two witnesses
Among the two witnesses, Amit had been giving medical aid to victim Rahul during his confinement and Tarun had gone to Delhi, along with Sanjeev, to look for Rahul
Considering the threat perception, additional district and sessions judge Jagdeep Sood on Tuesday directed the Chandigarh Police to provide interim protection to two witnesses in the Sector 37 property grab case.
As trial against the 11 accused began on Tuesday, witnesses Amit Gupta and Tarun Kumar, alias Tarsem, appeared before the court and raised apprehensions of threat to their life. The victim, Rahul Mehta, could not appear due to poor health.
The accused had illegally confined Rahul, the only surviving heir of his family, in his house in April 2017, before forcibly transferring the general power of attorney (GPA) to their names and abandoning him at a stud farm in Gujarat.
The accused include journalist Sanjeev Mahajan; realtor Manish Gupta and his brother Saurab Gupta; suspended Chandigarh Police inspector Rajdeep Singh; Satpal Dagar, brother of a UT deputy superintendent of police; liquor baron Arvind Singla and businessman Khalendra Singh Kadyan, along with Ashok Arora, Shekhar and Daljit Singh, who purportedly acted as witnesses in the subsequent sale of the house.
Gurpreet Singh, who impersonated Rahul as the property owner to execute the sale and since deceased bouncer Surjit are the other accused in the case.
Amit and Tarun are listed as “sensitive” witnesses by the special investigation team (SIT). Amit is the chemist, who had been providing medical assistance to Rahul during his illegal confinement, and Tarun had gone to Delhi, along with Sanjeev, to search for Rahul.
Intimidated by the crowd outside the court room, both witnesses told the court that they felt insecure. They claimed that the accused had earlier slapped, threatened and beaten former superintendent of police Sita Ram Rattan, a complainant in the case, and thus they felt threatened about their personal safety.
Taking note of their plea, the court directed the UT SSP to provide them protection under the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018, for which an application be moved before the competent authority.
Hearing deferred, accused to appear in person
Meanwhile, the court deferred the recording of witness till February 2 in the wake of work suspension at the district courts.
As witnesses Amit and Tarun have to identify the accused, the court directed the jail authorities to produce all accused in person on Wednesday after ensuring that they are not suffering from any Covid-19 symptoms.
Accused hands over documents to wife
Commotion was witnessed outside the court after a large number of acquaintances and family members of the accused gathered. Police sources said amid the melee, accused Sanjeev handed over some documents to his wife.
“We are scanning the CCTV footage to ascertain if he handed over documents without the court’s permission,” said a senior police official. The police are also looking into the role of policemen, who allowed the accused to meet his family without the court’s approval.
