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Court rejects bail plea of PSI case accused police officer Amrit Paul
The CID counsel told the 52nd city civil and session court that the investigation against Paul was yet to be completed. Since the investigation was in its initial stage, there were chances of tampering with prosecution witnesses, it told the court.
A city court on Wednesday dismissed the bail plea of former additional director general of police (ADGP) Amrit Paul, who was arrested in connection with alleged irregularities in police sub-inspector (PSI) recruitment.
The CID counsel told the 52nd city civil and session court that the investigation against Paul was yet to be completed. Since the investigation was in its initial stage, there were chances of tampering with prosecution witnesses, it told the court.
The officer had threatened some of his staff, who had given their statements to the CID police with reference to his role, and as an ADGP, Paul wielded enormous influence, the prosecution argued.
Objecting to the bail plea, special public prosecutor P Prasanna Kumar submitted that crucial evidence like verification of CCTV camera was still on, and granting bail at this juncture would hamper the investigation.
The prosecution also informed the court about the high court rejecting bail petitions of six other accused in the case.
The judge rejected the bail, citing that there was a chance of the petitioner tampering with the prosecution witnesses and hampering the investigation. The petitioner is not entitled to relief of bail at this stage, the court said.
Meanwhile, the CID was probing the financial transactions of a senior IPS officer, arrested in connection with the police recruitment scam in the state, with a real estate businessman and a financier to find the trail of the ₹1.36 crore bribe he allegedly received.
Paul is the first ADGP — the second-highest rank in the police hierarchy — to be arrested in connection with a corruption case in the state.
While contesting Paul’s bail plea, the prosecution, on behalf of the CID, informed the court that former DySP Shanta Kumar, who has also been arrested in the case, had handed over ₹1.3 crore that he had allegedly collected from some PSI aspirants to a few individuals on Paul’s instructions.
The prosecution said police needed Paul’s custody to recover that money.
The CID wants to have stronger evidence that could prove the ADGP’s role in the crime conclusively.
The CID is also looking at investments in land holdings made by a police officer in the region neighbouring to Bengaluru in the names of family members — through his real estate and financial associates.
In October, the examinations for the recruitment of police sub-inspector posts were held. As many as 545 candidates cleared the exam in January from a group of 54,287 candidates who had taken the writing exam.
