: The Karnataka High Court on Monday ordered issue of notice to the State government on a petition seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into a case of forgery, related to a private property, in which a retired IPS officer was allegedly “hand-in-glove” with those who indulged in land grabbing.
Justice A.S. Bopanna passed the order on a petition filed by one T.A. Harish, who owns a property, measuring around 2 lakh sq. ft., near Ulsoor. The Court also ordered issue of notice to the CBI.
The petitioner has alleged that several persons have been trying to grab the property since 1994, and in 2002 anti-social elements dispossessed him of the property. After a legal battle, the city civil and sessions court, following a direction of the High Court, conducted a detailed inquiry and in 2004 restored the property to him, besides ordering a prosecution of those who had tried to take over the property.
Forged documents
However, the petitioner has alleged, in 2005 one B. Zaheer Ahmed initiated a suit against the petitioner using forged documents. And the police refused to register the case saying it was a civil dispute. However, on a private complaint by the petitioner, a magistrate’s court in 2007 directed the Ulsoor police to probe the forgery case.
No investigation
It has been alleged in the petition that despite this direction, the police did not investigate and finally orders from the High Court forced the police to probe the case. The petitioner claimed that even though one of those accused, in the statement given to the investigating officer, had named Jayaprakash Nayak, the then Deputy Commissioner of Bangalore East (now retired), for his [Nayak’s] alleged link with the accused, the investigating officer “deliberately” did not make Mr. Nayak an accused and submitted an “incomplete” charge sheet.
Even though the trial court had issued non-bailable warrants against Ahmed and others, the police have failed to execute the warrants for the past three years and have not yet filed a report of the forensic tests before the trial court, though it is with the police.
