New Delhi: A Delhi court today recorded the
statements of two complainants, who are seeking prosecution of
industrialist and Rajya Sabha MP Rahul Bajaj for the alleged
disfigurement of the India map on a website hosted by his
group's German insurance partner Allianz.
Metropolitan Magistrate Geetanjali Goel recorded the
testimonies of complainants Harsh Malhotra and Sonu Rangi in
the case.
"I, after receiving a call from a telecaller regarding
purchase of an insurance policy, visited the website of Bajaj
Allianz Insurance Company and, to my utter shock, found a
disfigured Indian map," Malhotra testified.
The witness also exhibited various documents to buttress
his claim that the insurance company had shown Jammu and
Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as parts of Pakistan and China
respectively.
The court has posted further hearing on the matter to
July 29.
Another complainant, Sanjay Sachdeva, had earlier stated
that the company's action showed disloyalty towards the
nation.
The police, in their report, said that the website
belonged to the German company, and the error had already been
rectified.
Sachdeva, a member of the Delhi Pradesh National Panthers
Party, had sought the prosecution of Bajaj under Section 124A
(sedition) of the IPC on the grounds that the disfigurement of
India map was an "anti-national" act.
Responding to the allegations, Bajaj had earlier told
PTI that the portal, which depicted the map with the reported
discrepancy, belonged to his company's insurance venture
partner, Allianz.
The complaint, on the other hand, alleged that "in the
website (allianz.com)... he intentionally... depicted the
state of Jammu and Kashmir as a part of Pakistan and Arunachal
Pradesh as a part of China."
-PTI
First Published: Friday, July 02, 2010, 00:33