Jaipur: A CBI court on Wednesday sent senior IPS
officer A Ponnuchamy to judicial custody till May 26 in
connection with the Dara Singh fake encounter case.
The 48-year-old officer, who was under CBI custody,
was produced before Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate
Mahendra Singhal.
The IG rank officer was arrested here on Sunday for
his alleged involvement in the Dara Singh encounter case,
which took place here in October 2006.
Meanwhile, Ponnuchamy's advocate A Jain alleged that
the CBI violated custody rules by allowing a history-sheeter
to meet his client on Monday.
He also moved an application before the magistrate
seeking action against the CBI.
"History sheeter Ramavatar Naalpuria, hailing from
Khetri (Jhunjhunu), was allowed to meet Ponnuchamy by CBI on
May 16. Naalpuria threatened him. It is a violation of custody
rules and we sought action against the CBI," the advocate
said.
"In August 2010, one of the accused cop Rajesh
Choudhary (who has not been arrested so far) had also
submitted a representation to CBI that local officers of the
agency were threatening those police officers, including him,
who were the part of the SOG team which killed Dara Singh in
encounter," Jain claimed.
Apart from Ponnuchamy, the CBI has till now arrested
four Rajasthan police personnel -- inspectors Nisar Khan and
Naresh Sharma, sub-inspector Satyanarayan Godara and assistant
sub-inspector Surendra Singh.
On the other hand, the probe agency is looking for
Additional DG (Home Guards) A K Jain and Additional SP Arshad
Ali, whose whereabouts are not yet known.
The Supreme Court had ordered a CBI enquiry in the
case after Dara's widow Sushila filed a petition, alleging
that her husband was killed in cold blood by the Rajasthan
Police's Special Operation Group.
Dara's family members have pointed fingers at a senior
state BJP leader claiming that he was targeted because of
personal enmity.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, May 18, 2011, 21:24