Man arrested in narcotics case tries to seek bail on forged papers

Delhi Police crime branch registered an FIR against Danish Siddiqui of Lucknow on charges of cheating and forgery

A man who was arrested in April for being part of a narcotics ring attempted to secure bail by presenting forged medical documents not once, but twice, before a city court within a fortnight last month, officers from the Delhi Police’s crime branch said on Tuesday, adding that they have registered a first information report (FIR) against the undertrial prisoner.

Siddiqui applied for bail on July 15 on the grounds that doctors had advised an abdominal surgery on July 19. His medical documents, which were attached to the bail application, were found to be fake. (HT photo)

According to the officers, the FIR was filed on Monday against Danish Siddiqui of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, under sections 420, 466, 468, 471, and 474 of the Indian Penal Code on charges of cheating, forgery of record or court or public register, and intending to use documents known to be forged.

According to the FIR seen by HT, the case dates to September 26 last year, when a crime branch team arrested Aakash Mahla, also known as Bhanu, from Delhi with 50 grams of MDMA, also called Ecstasy or Molly. He told the police that he obtained the contraband from a Nigerian national named Justice Nzubechukwu, also known as Reason, who was apprehended the following day and supplied it to Danish Siddiqui in Lucknow.

“Notices were sent to Siddiqui to join the investigation. He, however, ignored the notices and never appeared before the investigating team. As a result, the concerned court issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him. Siddiqui was arrested on April 12 this year in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, following information about his hiding place. He was sent to judicial custody,” said a police officer associated with the case who did not want to be identified.

According to the officer, Siddiqui applied for bail through his lawyer on July 15 on the grounds that doctors had advised him to have abdominal surgery on July 19 at a hospital in Lucknow. His medical documents, ostensibly issued by the hospital, were also attached to the bail application. The court directed the investigating officer (IO) to verify the documents and Siddiqui’s claims.

The IO submitted the verification report on July 22. The report said that a registration in Siddiqui’s name had been made at the hospital, but no one had seen him there, and no doctor had advised surgery. The documents appeared to be forgeries, said officers. But during the hearing, Siddiqui’s lawyer informed the court that his surgery was performed at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in northeast Delhi due to a financial dispute with the hospital, and he produced relevant medical papers, according to the officer.

“Those documents were also found fake after verification, which was reported to the court. The judge verbally directed the IO to take legal action. As a result, we have filed a case and are investigating how the forged medical documents were obtained,” the officer added.