Ghaziabad: The district court has rejected
the parole application of mother and wife of Ashutosh Asthana,
prime accused in the multi-crore PF scam, who died
mysteriously in Dasna jail here last week.
Asthana's mother Savitri and wife Sushma are
co-accused in alleged siphoning off of Rs 23 crore provident
fund of class III and IV employees in which names of a number
of 36 judges from various courts, including one from the
Supreme Court, had figured.
They are lodged in the district jail since April 2008.
Special Judge Rajbeer Sharma while rejecting the
application said the parole application is subject to pendency
of their bail application which is yet to be decided.
The women had demanded a parole for six months on the
account of ill-health of Sushma and various rituals which have
to be followed after Ashthana's death.
Superintendent of the jail VK Singh told a news agency that he
had recommended their parole for three months on humanitarian
grounds.
Sushma later said she plans to move the High Court for
her parole application.
Meanwhile, DM Ramesh Kumar told the news agency that he, along
with District Judge Vishnu Chand Gupta and SSP Akhil Kumar,
visited the district jail yesterday and interrogated inmates
regarding 43-year-old Asthana's death.
District Judge Gupta, after the visit, said he will
send his report to the High Court and Chief Judicial
Magistrate OA Ojha has been assigned the judicial probe in the
incident as Asthana was in judicial custody at the time of his
death.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, October 23, 2009, 13:32