Observing that the State police appears to be shielding some of the prime accused in the multi-crore financial scam in the Karnataka Bhovi Development Corporation, the High Court of Karnataka on Thursday indicated that it is a fit case to be transferred to an independent agency like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The HC made these observations in this regard on noticing that four of the prime accused were neither arrested nor summoned for questioning even when they had not secured bail from any court since the registration of the crime back in March, 2023.
Meanwhile, Justice M. Nagaprasanna, who is hearing petitions filed by some of the other accused persons, has directed the police to produce the record of investigation related to Saraswathi (Accused No. 1), Lakshmi (Accused No. 2), Padma (Accused No. 3), and Annayappa (Accused No. 5), who were said to be neither arrested not summoned for questioning so far.
The court also cautioned the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is investigating the case, that the court would be constrained to pass necessary order for transfer of probe to an independent agency if the records were not produced before the court.
“What is the investigating agency doing since March, 2023,” the court asked when an advocate, appearing for some of the petitioner-accused who have questioned the legality of the criminal case against them, pointed out that the investigation is biased as four prime accused were not even called for questioning and they have not even secured anticipatory bail from any court.
The advocate also complained that many other accused, of the total 14 accused persons, have been either arrested or questioned in the case.
Taking note of the fact that the financial scam is in the range of ₹100 crore to ₹150 crore, the court questioned the attitude of the State authorities in probing cases of such a magnitude.
Published – December 19, 2024 09:11 pm IST