M A I N   N E W S

JYOTI MURDER CASE
Panchkula police in cahoots with Doon MLA: Court
Hina Rohtaki/TNS

Panchkula, April 8
In what has come as a huge embarrassment to the Panchkula Police, Chief Judicial Magistrate Bhawna Jain on Monday reprimanded its personnel for “working hand in glove” with Doon MLA, Ram Kumar Chaudhary, the prime accused in the Jyoti murder case.

The CJM’s remarks came after her repeated directions to the police to submit copies of the chargesheet and other papers didn’t yield any result.

“It seems that the prosecution is working hand in glove with the accused for reasons best known to it. Despite repeated orders, the police is not obeying,” she said. However, after Station House Officer of the Sector 5 police station made an appearance in the court, the judge granted the police time till April 10 to submit the required papers.

Earlier, Chaudhary’s counsel moved an application under Section 167(2) of the CrPC requesting bail for the accused on the grounds that the chargesheet filed was incomplete and a stipulated period of 90 days had passed.

It is not for the first time that the court has voiced its concern over “the police acting in connivance with the accused.” When Chaudhary had moved an application to allow him to attend the budget session in the Himachal Pradesh assembly, the police had not oppose his plea.

The judge, at that time, had said: “The court is of the view that despite it being a fact that the prosecution has not opposed the application moved for reasons best known to it, the court is not required to pass the order thereon.”