Delhi Court raps probe agency for not tracing victims of fraud, asks DCP to look into case

In a cheating case, a Delhi Court on Monday said it appeared that the investigating agency was not at all sincere in tracing the victims of fraud or had “intentionally inflated” the money in question with a “malicious intent to hoodwink the court” [State v. Mukesh Kumar Jha]..The remarks of Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana came during the hearing of a bail plea filed by the accused person in the case. The Court accordingly directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) concerned to personally look into the matter.“It appears that the investigating agency is not at all sincere in its intent to trace out the victims or the alleged money laundered is intentionally inflated by the investigating agency with a malicious intent to hoodwink the court. In either case, it is a serious issue,” it stated..On the one hand, counsel appearing for the accused had claimed that the amount involved in the case stood at ₹30,000, while on the other, the investigating agency had said that the amount was somewhere around ₹1.74 crore.Seeking bail, the defence counsel argued that that till date, not even one single victim had been cited by the police and that the allegations were merely a “cock and bull” story fabricated by the investigating agency to harass innocent citizens..In order to ascertain the amount involved and the status of the victims, the Court had asked the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) to look into the matter. From the statement of witnesses produced by the officer, the Court noted that none of the witnesses alleged any cheating..On perusing the record, the Court also noted that the investigating agency had “specifically reported” that in the present case, ₹1.74 crore was laundered out of India illegally.The order, therefore, observed,“This Court is in pain to observe that for the past six months, even sole complainant H S Prasad, who is alleged to be cheated of ₹30,000 has not been till date joined by the IO (investigating officer) in the investigation of the present case.”The IO and ACP were stated to have not given the Court “any palpable reason” why they opted to not even ask the complainant to join the investigation..The circumstances, therefore, prompted the Court to direct the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) concerned to personally look into the matter when keeping in mind the rights of “unheard victims”.“The worthy DCP is directed to apprise this court by way of an affidavit regarding the steps taken by the investigating agency to trace out the victims in the instant matter by linking the bank transactions of the alleged account,” it added.The order copy was directed to be sent to the DCP concerned for necessary information and compliance.“This court is conscious of the rights of the accused for expeditious disposal of the instant application. However, the court is equally conscious of the rights of the victims and to arrive at a just conclusion, I deem it appropriate that unheard and invisible victims in the case at hand are at least in a position to put forth their version in the court. Accordingly, I am constrained to adjourn the matter,” it was directed..Additional Public Prosecutor Irfan Ahmed represented the State whereas Advocates Devender Kumar Dhiryan and Deepak Mehra appeared for the accused..[Read the order]