Former mayor R. Sampath Raj, who was named in the charge sheet in the D.J. Halli riots case, is allegedly absconding after being discharged from a private hospital where he had been treated for COVID-19. Sleuths from the Central Crime Branch (CCB) police have launched a drive to track him down and arrest him.
The CCB had filed an interim charge sheet on October 12, in which they had described R. Sampath Raj as an absconding accused. The charge sheet claims he was part of the conspiracy in the violence on the night of August 11 in which the house of Pulikeshinagar MLA Akhanda Srinivasamurthy was set on fire.
Days before the charge sheet was filed, Sampath Raj had failed to respond to two summons to present himself for interrogation, prompting the CCB to call him an “absconding accused”.
However, he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was under treatment in a private hospital.
When alerted of this development, the CCB had served a notice to the hospital management asking to be intimated before Mr. Raj was discharged.
On Friday, the CCB learnt that Mr. Raj had been discharged on October 14, and the hospital had not informed them about the same.
Mr. Raj’s house is locked. He and his family members are incommunicado. “His associates claim that he is being treated in the hospital, but that is not true,” said a police official.
The police are searching for the former mayor and said he will be arrested soon. As the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the probe, they have also been searching for Mr. Raj, sources said.
Meanwhile, the CCB has served another notice to the hospital management for not abiding by its earlier notice asking to be intimated of Mr. Raj’s discharge.
