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Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 27
Asserting that the allegations against former DC’s Mohammad Shayin’s personal assistant (PA) Punam Malik, booked in a case of criminal breach of trust, are quite serious in nature and she does not deserve the right to be granted pre-arrest bail, the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Roopam Singh today dismissed her anticipatory bail plea.
“The fact remains that the offence alleged to have been committed by the accused applicant is quite serious in nature. Right now there is no reason to disbelieve the prosecution version. It is definitely not the case where the accused applicant is being unnecessarily harassed. Granting her anticipatory bail will send a wrong signal to society and will also embolden the accused,” said the court while dismissing the anticipatory bail plea.
“The recovery of the said missing file is yet to be effected form her for which her custodial interrogation is necessary since she has not given any clue about the same when she joined the investigation. In view of the specific incriminating role attributed to the accused applicant, she does not deserve the permission of pre-arrest bail. Resultantly, without commenting on the merits of the case, the present bail application is dismissed and the interim order is vacated,” said the court.
Public prosecutor Manu Kakkar had vehemently opposed the anticipatory bail plea and argued that despite having joined the investigation, Punam Malik had neither cooperated with the police nor helped in recovering the missing file. “It is proved that the plea of entry in the movement register by the petitioner is devoid of merit. Based on the certified copies supplied by the Estate Office, it has been proved on record that files were even sent to office of the Estate Officer without any verbal direction or entry,” Kakkar told the court.
The court had earlier granted interim bail to Punam Malik on June 17 on her anticipatory bail plea, which was decided today.
The case
Punam Malik had been booked in a case of criminal breach of trust on June 10. The case was registered on a complaint of Estate Office employee Samir Khan. According to the complaint, Samir Khan alleged that Punam Malik lost a file pertaining to House No. 3323, Sector 19. He claimed that the file was sought by her in December 2014. Samir Khan, a senior assistant at the Estate Office, had alleged that a file belonging to House No. 3323, Sector 19-D, had been in the possession of Punam Malik since the time she was posted at the Estate Office and she had failed to return it despite repeated reminders. Khan stated the original file was required for a case of share transfer and the applicants claimed that the file was in Punam Malik’s possession as they had approached her in 2014. Following the transfer, the applicant again approached the Estate Office and during the probe, it was learnt that the file was still lying with Punam Malik, he alleged.
She will be arrested soon, says SHO
The SHO of the Sector 17 police station said the she would be arrested soon as part of their investigations.
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