M A I N   N E W S

Judicial officer gives CBI the slip
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 11
In the dock over the escape of the local Judicial Magistrate, Mr SS Bhardwaj, from his Sector 22 house after he was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 7 lakh from a litigant, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a facesaving exercise today said the Judicial Magistrate was not in their “custody” when he escaped.

The Judicial Magistrate (First Class) was caught last evening after he had accepted a bribe of Rs 7 lakh from a litigant on behalf of the District and Sessions Judge, Jalandhar, Mr RM Gupta.

As the CBI washed its hands off the escape of the judicial officer, the Chandigarh Police today registered a case against Mr Bhardwaj for escaping from custody. The case under Section 224 of the IPC was registered on a complaint by the SP, CBI. The SP wrote to the local police that while conducting a search, the judicial officer “clandestinely” escaped from his Sector 22 house.

The investigating agency was in the process of completing legal formalities when Mr Bhardwaj escaped. Sources said the signatures of the judicial officer were yet to be taken on the papers. The search was carried out in the presence of the District and Sessions Judge (Punjab Vigilance), Punjab and Haryana High Court, Mr LR Ruzom, who had been deputed by the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. A senior IG level official of the CBI from Delhi reportedly called upon the Chief Justice. However, the high court authorities refused to comment on the issue.

A spokesman for the CBI in Delhi, said Mr Bhardwaj was not in their custody when he escaped. Interestingly, the Sector 22 house of Mr Bhardwaj was virtually sealed by the sleuths of the CBI, when the judicial officer reportedly scaled the rear courtyard wall after jumping from a room on the first floor of the house.

While Mr Bhardwaj is still on the run, the District and Sessions Judge, who was formally arrested this morning, was remanded in police custody till May 16 by the Duty Magistrate, Mrs Gurvinder Kaur, at her Sector 19 house late this evening. Both the judicial officers had been trapped by the CBI last evening.

Teams of the CBI were conducting raids at the native village of Mr Bhardwaj in Sunam ( Sangrur) and other places in the region. Raids were also conducted at two places in the city.

While denying that the Judicial Magistrate had escaped due to the negligence of the CBI, the spokesman for the CBI in Delhi said the searches were being carried out in the presence of two judicial officers deputed by the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High court. He said, “ While the legal formalities were being completed, Mr Bhardwaj was allowed to meet and console his wife who was sitting in a room and had refused to take food. Taking advantage of the privacy, the Judicial Magistrate slipped out”.

According to the information, the complainant available , Dr Gurvinder SIngh Samra, who runs Guru Tegh Bahadhur Hospital, Kartapur, had been booked for allegedly causing death of a patient by negligence. A case under Section 304 A of the IPC had been registered. Dr Samra had told the CBI that the Jalandhar police had registered a number of false cases against him.

Dr Samra was assured by Mr Bhardwaj that his problem would be solved if he paid Rs 11 lakh. After discussion, the complainant was asked to file an anticipatory bail application on May 9 on the assurance that he would be given interim relief. The litigant was asked to pay Rs 7 lakh as the first instalment. The remaining sum was to be paid after confirmation of the bail. The District and Sessions Judge granted conditional bail to Dr Samra on May 10 and the next date was fixed for May 15.

Sources in the CBI had said yesterday that the Judicial Magistrate was caught red-handed while checking the amount which had been packed in two sweet boxes.

While the trap was laid at the Sector 22 house of Mr Bhardwaj, another team of the CBI conducted searches at the Sector 8 ( No. 1254) house of the District and Sessions judge. Though the CBI sleuths were tight-lipped about the seizures made from the house of the two judicial officers, sources said some property documents and some other documents had been seized.

Our Correspondent add from Jalandhar: Even as the official house of Mr Gupta had been under the seizure of CBI sleuths since last evening, the latter confiscated important documents and files during their search operations on Sunday. A special team of the CBI from Chandigarh took along a close relative of Mr Gupta before conducting the raid at the latter’s house in the posh Old Baradari locality here at about 8 pm yesterday. The guard and other employees posted at Mr Gupta’s residence were also questioned by the CBI officials, the details of which could not be ascertained.

Mediapersons were not allowed to enter the premises by the raiding party as the main gate was locked from inside.