Himachal ADGP gets pre arrest bail in land fraud case

Patiala, Dec 15 (UNI) Controversial Himachal Pradesh Additional Director General of police (ADGP) Bhupinder Singh Thind was yesterday granted pre arrest bail in a land fraud case by the Additional Sessions Judge Sukhwinder Kaur.

The court has directed Thind to join the investigations in the case.

Thind had moved the Sessions Court after a court of Rajpura issued fresh non-bailable warrants (NBW) against him on December 10 after he failed to appear before the court in connection with the case pending against him.

Thind had been accused of fraudulently selling a prime piece of land measuring 46 canal and 6 marlas in Chaparchirdi village near Dera Bassi.

The land belonged to NRI Prithpal Kaur, who had filed a complaint against the ADGP through her niece Aninder Jawanda, accusing him of selling the land that belonged to her by getting a fake general power of attorney made in his own name.

The case was registered against Thind at Dera Bassi police station in November 2005, under sections 419, 420, 465, 467, 470, 471, and 120-b and the challan was produced in the court in January kast year. As Thind did not join the investigations, the Patiala police moved the court seeking issuance of non-bailable warrant against him. It was on June 4 last year that the court had first issued non-bailable warrant against the cop in connection with the case.

However, Thind continued to elude the police teams that had gone to arrest him from Shimla. On June 23 this year he joined the investigations and appeared at the Patiala police headquarters where he submitted replies to over two dozen questions asked by the police.

Thind was also arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on October 26 last year in connection with another case of fraud registered against him and some real estate promoters. He had been accused of availing loans worth lakhs of rupees from different banks by mortgaging the woman NRIs property which he had acquired by forging documents.

He even had to undergo a 14-day judicial remand after being arrested by the CBI.

Thind will appear in the Rajpura court on December 24. He however has taken back his bank guarantee which he had deposited in the court before going aboard on November 27.

UNI