Kaithal embezzlement case: HC junks plea of accused, orders SIT to complete probe in six weeks

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Others whose petitions have been dismissed include then accountant in of District Rural Development Authority (DRDA) at Kaithal Inderjeet Singh, DSP Narapjeet Singh, officers of Kaithal Canara Bank, P Balakrishanan and Ram Kumar Gupta. The IAS officers and other accused had approached the High Court challenging Kaithal trial court’s orders of summoning them and directing further investigation against Dinesh Yadav and Mona A Sreenivas.

During the investigation, it came out that DRDA accountant Inderjeet Singh had committed forgery in at least 42 signed cheques by various Drawing and Disbursing Officers (IAS officers) and had withdrawn access amount as against the amount shown in the cash book and vouchers. An amount of Rs. 3.50 lakh was recovered from his house and in his disclosure statement his total assets came out worth Rs. 1.31 crore.

“It is on record that cheques amounting to Rs. 27 lakh were drawn and encashed on the last day of posting of RC Verma, then Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kaithal. Though the total amount drawn on the last day was much more, at least cheques of Rs. 27 lakh were forged. Surprisingly, investigating officer did not even interrogate R.C. Verma,” the court noticed.

Justice Gupta expressed, “trial court has rightly summoned them (accused officers) to face trial.” The court further said, “It is inexplicable how entire interpolation was done by one official at clerical level namely Inderjeet Singh. It needs to be examined whether complicity of senior officers and bank official was there in commission of the crime. It is on record that most of the forged cheques are either self drawn in the name of DDOs or in the name of accused Inderjeet Singh. The fact that there is forgery in such cheques either drawn on self by the concerned DDO or in the name of main accused Inderjeet Singh, lead to the probability that other accused connived with Inderjeet Singh.”

During the trial, the accountant Inderjeet Singh had moved an application praying that DDOs namely RC Verma, BB Kaushik, Mona A Srinivas and complainant Dinesh Yadav, then Additional Deputy Commissioner be summoned as additional accused.