SE in police custody till tomorrow

On another application for getting the accused examined from the PGI as he was "suffering from heart ailment", the magistrate directed the officials to get a check-up done. Sharma was taken into custody by the Vigilance Cell after his arrest was permitted by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate B C Gupta yesterday in the Engineering Department kickbacks case.

His production warrants had earlier been issued by JMIC Jasbir Singh on the prosecution’s application for advancing the date of Sharma’s appearance after he was remanded to judicial custody till October 8.

Today, seeking 10 days’ police remand, the assistant district attorney said that Sharma was required for custodial interrogation as his links with the firms supplying orders were to be established.

He was also to be questioned regarding the whereabouts of former UT chief engineer K K Jerath, who has been declared a proclaimed offender in this case, the ADA said.

Further, the money received as kickbacks was to be recovered and his assets were to be probed. The modus operandi of receiving kickbacks was also to be looked into, the ADA added.

Furnishing details of the kickbacks allegedly received, the ADA said there were two entries against his name, one of Rs 1,81,000 and another of Rs 28,900, in the diaries of the alleged middlemen.

Opposing the plea, the defence counsel contended that the accused had been joining investigations since July. A letter regarding his availability for interrogation was also written to the UT Home Secretary in the same month, the counsel said.

Refuting the prosecution’s claim of Sharma receiving kickbacks, the counsel said the diaries could not be relied upon. According to an entry, the accused had received Rs 1,10,000 for placing an order worth Rs 1,26,900. Further, there was not even a single entry in the police diaries regarding his receiving bribe, he added.

Denying having knowledge regarding Jerath’s whereabouts, the counsel stated that the former engineer was not related to him.

Seeking directions to get the accused medically examined, the counsel said that ECG and X-ray tests were to be conducted. He will die in police custody if medical facilities were not provided, the counsel said.