Agra: Police in Agra are in hot water after some officers allegedly registered a criminal case against a man who had been dead for 2 years and even submitted a chargesheet in court bearing his signature and testimony.
The controversy erupted when another suspect, previously arrested in connection with the case and then released, raised the matter in court and questioned the investigation. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (City) Suraj Kumar Rai, a local resident named Mangal Singh Rana filed a court application alleging lapses in a case investigation involving his deceased acquaintance, Pratap Singh.
In response to the complaint, the Agra Commissioner suspended four sub-inspectors involved with the investigation, and a cheating and forgery case was filed against them along with the manager of a finance company allegedly linked to the controversy.
Speaking to the media, Rana said Singh bought a car 10 years ago with a loan of Rs 1,43,381 from Shriram Finance for which Rana was the guarantor. Singh passed away two years later on 12 September, 2016, and a death certificate was issued later that month. Two years after his death, the finance company’s manager, Naveen Gautam, filed a police complaint on 25 December, 2018, in connection with the unpaid car loan, naming both Rana and Pratap Singh.
The complaint alleged that Pratap Singh and others threatened him and used abusive language against him in August 2018. He also alleged that the accused committed fraud against him.
ThePrint reached Naveen Gautam who said to speak to his lawyer, calls to whom went unanswered. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
Four sub-inspectors—Manish Kumar, Rajeev Tomar, Rakesh Kumar, and Amit Prasad—investigated the case.
According to Rana, he wasn’t informed about the case, the investigators never contacted him and they didn’t get his signatures on any document.
Sub-inspector Amit Prasad recorded the testimony of the manager and in a bizarre twist even registered the testimony of Pratap Singh, who had been dead for 2 years.
Speaking to ThePrint, DCP Suraj Rai said that on the court’s orders, a case has been filed against the sub-inspectors and the manager under sections 318 (cheating) and 339 (possessing forged electronic records with the intent to use) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and evidence is being collected.
The sub-inspectors will remain suspended while the trial is pending.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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