The Chief Magistrate of Magistracy (ACJM) Panipat, Pardeep Choudhry, on Thursday ordered the registration of an FIR against officials of Panipat CIA-II (criminal investigation agency) under Articles 364-A (kidnapping against ransom), 365 (kidnapping to confine a person), 323 (willfully causing bodily harm), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120B (conspiracy).

The police officers who will be charged have been identified as CIA-II officials, Inspector Virender, ASI Sumit Dahiya, police officers Rajesh and Jaibir Rana, and three members of the Rana police team.

The case concerns the alleged kidnapping and torture of a businessman, Raj Kumar Ahuja (53), who runs a furniture showroom in Panipat. Ahuja brought allegations against the seven police officers and said the ongoing case belonged to her father’s business which is engaged in the wholesale business of home furnishings.

“My father’s company had received an order for the supply of equipment worth over Rs 1 crore from a resident of Bihar, who had deposited Rs 25 lakh as an advance. A dispute then arose between the two sides over the transportation of the material, ”Ahuja said. His lawyer, SK Ruhal, told the court that a guarantee amount of Rs 25 lakh deposited by the Bihar resident was only to be repaid after the agreement was terminated. The lawyer also claimed that the parties had agreed to go to the civil courts of Panipat to resolve the dispute.

In the same case, according to Ruhal, an FIR was registered but it was subsequently closed after the complaint was withdrawn. The lawyer alleged that a second FIR was registered against Ahuja under Article 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the IPC on November 6 this year after “accepting a new claim” from the complainant.

The lawyer said that a case of a purely civil nature had been turned into a case of a criminal nature alleging that the CIA team had “kidnapped” Ahuja. “This is clearly visible on the CCTV footage of the judicial complex… (Ahuja) was abducted by 5 to 6 people in a white Wagon-R car. He was taken by the aforementioned police officers to CIA-II, Panipat, and illegally detained there for two days. The location of (Ahuja)… s phone and police officers were from the same area, showing that the applicant was in illegal custody of the aforementioned CIA-II police officers, Panipat. No CCTV camera is functional in CIA-II, Panipat, which constitutes a flagrant violation of the instructions of… (SC).

The lawyer told the court that Ahuja had been “subjected to third degree torture and that the concerned doctor who examined him medically before taking him to the Panipat District Prison, in judicial detention, did not had not even bothered to examine the applicant and had prepared a false medical report ”. .

By order of the court, a medical commission was formed which “noticed” the wounds on his body. The lawyer said “that there are recordings of a telephone conversation between Arjun (son of Ahuja) and the police who demanded a ransom in the amount of Rs 25 lakh” to release him. The lawyer alleged that “the accused CIA police officials had no concerns with the FIR housed at the Chandani Bagh police station in Panipat, but carried out these acts on the instructions of senior officers. de police de Panipat ”, alleging that the person from Bihar is“ known / related to a senior police officer ”.

In view of the allegations, the court ordered the filing of an FIR and asked the Panipat SP to ensure compliance with the court orders in letter and spirit and further ensure that a fair and impartial investigation be conducted in the present case without failure. . Referring to the allegations, the court said, “Not only that, but the role of other police officers should also be considered, as it was alleged by the plaintiff (Ahuja) that the misguided police officers committed the heinous offense on instructions. senior police officials stationed in Panipat and they (CIA officials) were not even performing their official duties.

Panipat SP Shashank Kumar Sawan told The Indian Express that the case will be investigated and reviewed according to the law. When contacted, a police officer made allegations against Ahuja regarding “default on a bank loan in the amount of Rs 70 lakh, embezzlement of funds to other companies and failure to pay. supply of equipment to customers ”.