A trial court here Wednesday reserved till Dec 12 its order on a complaint by a prosecution witness in the 2008 cash-for-votes case, alleging that accused and Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh and others allegedly abducted him ahead of his deposition before a parliamentary panel.
Hasmat Ali alleged he was abducted Sep 25, 2008 from Khan Market in south Delhi.
Metropolitan Magistrate Sudesh Kumar reserved the order on Ali’s plea alleging that the MP got him abducted through his then secretary Tarun Goel and aide Ramesh.
Ali alleged he was taken to the Lodhi Estate bungalow of Amar Singh when he was to record his testimony before a parliamentary inquiry panel probing into the scam.
Police filed a report in court saying that according to their inquiry, no such incident took place.
“We have found that no incident of forcibly putting Hasmat Ali into a car and taking him away happened Sep 25, 2008,” the report said.
“From the inquiry, the allegation in the complaint of Hasmat Ali were not found substantiated and hence no FIR (first information report) was registered. The petition is an afterthought and without merit, it deserves to be dismissed,” it added.
Ali’s counsel L.K. Verma told the court that the police report had refused to believe his client, despite “solely relying” on his testimony in the cash-for-votes case.
“On the one hand, they (police) are solely relying on Hasmat Ali’s testimony in the 2008 cash-for-votes case, but here they are disbelieving him and his complaint,” Verma said.
“He was picked up by the accused from Khan Market here at gunpoint on the morning of Sep 25, 2008 and, consequently, he could not record his statement before the panel,” he said.
“Amar Singh started abusing the complainant (Ali) and threatened to kill him and his family. Singh then slapped the complainant. Thereafter, the complainant was locked in a room and after three-four hours, he was handed over to police in the presence of media,” the complaint said.
Ali claimed Amar Singh wanted him to give a favourable testimony before the panel. The complainant sought registration of an FIR against Amar Singh and his two aides.
On July 22, 2008, three BJP leaders waved wads of currency notes in the Lok Sabha just hours ahead of a trust vote, alleging they were given the money to vote in favour of the Manmohan Singh government.
Amar Singh has been chargesheeted by police in the 2008 cash-for-votes case along with Sudheendra Kulkarni, then advisor to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former BJP MPs Faggan Singh Kulaste, Mahabir Singh Bhagora and co-accused Sohail Hindustani and Sanjeev Saxena. All six have been granted bail by the Delhi High Court.
