Jhajjar, June 18
Former cricketer Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi surrendered before Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Sudheer Jeewan around noon here today.
He was wanted by the local police in a case of poaching. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had rejected his plea for anticipatory bail yesterday.
The former Nawab of Pataudi appeared in the court of the CJM accompanied by his lawyer. The court accepted his surrender and handed him over to the police.
The police interrogated him for about an hour after which he was produced before the CJM at his residence. The Magistrate remanded him in police custody for a day. He will be produced before the court tomorrow again.
Simultaneously, Pataudi also moved an application before the CJM for regular bail. The court will take it up tomorrow for hearing.
Pataudi’s lawyer told newspersons gathered here that his celebrity client had at no time evaded arrest but could not appear before the police because he was preoccupied with the drafting of his petition for anticipatory bail. He surrendered within hours of the bail plea being turned down by the high court.
He said the notices issued by the police asking Pataudi to appear before it were patently illegal. He said under the Wildlife Protection Act, the police had to hand over the case to the Wildlife Department.
He also maintained that the
police had no right to summon Pataudi or arrest him after he was detained on the day of the incident and then allowed to go.The lawyer said Pataudi was not involved in poaching and the carcasses of the black buck and the rabbits were not seized from the vehicle which carried the former India cricket captain.
Pataudi and seven others, including Shashi Singh, CEO of a software company, were booked for poaching on June 5. The police let all accused go after detaining them for about two hours on the day of the incident. It registered a daily diary report that day. However, when the news leaked out, the police registered an FIR and arrested an accused, Madan Singh, who was later freed on bail.
The police issued three notices to Pataudi to appear before the SHO, Jhajjar police station. The deadline expired on June 17. The police conducted several raids at possible hideouts of Pataudi in Delhi, Gurgaon and Pataudi. During these raids, several animal trophies were found hanging on the walls of Ibrahim Palace at Pataudi. This has led to another controversy.
