Dentist says Chandigarh cops filed FIR against him at Asthana’s behest, HC seeks affidavit

Source:-https://theprint.in

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Director General of Police (DGP), Chandigarh, to file an affidavit following allegations that the police registered FIRs against a city-based dentist at the behest of former CBI special director Rakesh Asthana.

In his petition in the high court filed through senior advocate Randeep Singh Surjewala, Dr Mohit Dhawan, who runs a dental clinic in Sector 21, has alleged that he was first booked for cheating in March 2018 by the Chandigarh Police on the complaint of a US-based woman patient.

Dr Dhawan has contended that his patient, Gertrude D’Souza, a resident of Connecticut in the US, is close to Asthana, who allegedly influenced the Chandigarh Police to register the case against him.

Another case of cheating was registered against Dr Dhawan on 21 September on the basis of a complaint lodged by a Kenyan woman, Enid Nayabundi.

In his petition, Dr Dhawan has asked for the transfer of the investigation into his cases outside the jurisdiction of the Chandigarh Police.

While taking up a petition filed by Dr Dhawan, Justice Sant Parkash has, in his orders of 9 October, asked the DGP to file a comprehensive affidavit in the form of a reply “in view of the serious allegations against the very high ranking police officials/ officers”. The judge has also asked the Chandigarh Police not to take any coercive step against Dr Dhawan on the basis of the fresh FIR.

Victim of malice unleashed by Asthana’
In his petition, Dr Dhawan has contended that he is a victim of “malice, vendetta and extortion unleashed by Rakesh Asthana, former special director, CBI, at the instance of his close associate Ms Gertrude D’Souza”.

Dr Dhawan told the court that he had treated D’Souza in August 2017 but she hadn’t fully paid him. The dentist alleged that he was called to the office of the DSP East at the Sector 26 police station in October 2017 and asked to pay Rs 50 lakh to settle the dispute with D’Souza. He further said he was summoned and served notices multiple times without there being an FIR against him.

In her complaint to the police, D’Souza had contended that Dr Dhawan had cheated her of Rs 7.13 lakh by providing dental implants of poor quality and on the pretext of bearing her lodging expenses in Chandigarh as well as a trip to the hills as part of a dental tourism package.

An FIR was registered against Dr Dhawan on 19 March, 2018 under sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the basis of a complaint filed by D’Souza following which he filed a complaint before the police complaints authority in Chandigarh in October 2018.

In September 2019, he filed another complaint to the SSP Chandigarh against the city police personnel alleging “harassment, extortion, fabrication of documents, corruption and serious abuse of official position”.

In November 2019, Dr Dhawan moved the court of the judicial magistrate first class, Chandigarh, against the SSP Chandigarh and SHO of police station Sector 19 for lodging an FIR and investigating the allegations raised by him.

Another FIR was lodged against Dr Dhawan in September this year under sections 419 and 420 of the IPC.

Dr Dhawan has contended in his petition that a fresh FIR against him was registered to “counterblast” his complaints with a view to compel and pressurise him to withdraw them.

Arguing the case on behalf of the Chandigarh administration, Charanjit Singh Bakshi, additional public prosecutor, told the court that Dr Dhawan had approached the high court without even waiting for a decision on his application seeking blanket interim bail.

Bakshi added that the petitioner had not come before the court with clean hands and was concealing material facts from the court. He added that the two FIRs against Dhawan were a result of threadbare investigation by the police and since the matter was being investigated in a fair and just manner, there was no need to transfer the case.