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Rediff.com  » News » Cops seek more time to file Ghandy chargesheet

Cops seek more time to file Ghandy chargesheet

Source: PTI
December 20, 2009 17:35 IST
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The Delhi Police has moved a court here seeking extension of time to file chargesheet against top Maoist leader Kobad Ghandy as his period of detention is completing 90 days on Sunday. In an application filed before a Metropolitan Magistrate, the Delhi police's Special Cell, which is investigating the matter against Ghandy, a suspected leader of banned Communist Party of India-Maoist, submitted that they needed time to file the chargesheet against him.

Ghandy, 63, an ideologue of the outfit, has been booked for various charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act after his arrest in Delhi on September 20. The police are yet to file the chargesheet within 90 days but in case the investigators need to have an extra time to complete the probe, they can do so only after obtaining due permission from the court under the provisions of the Act. The period of extension for filing the chargesheet can go up to 180 days in accordance with the Act.

One of Ghandy's counsel, however, said the plea of police apparently showed their inability to collect sufficient evidence against him till now. Notably, the investigators' bid to conduct narco-analysis test on the accused was made on the ground that he was not cooperating with them, he said. Metropolitan Magistrate Ashu Garg, who heard the plea of the police, gave them time only up to December 21 with a direction to put the application before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate on the same day.
The court issued a production warrant against Ghandy, who is at present in judicial custody in Tihar jail, for Monday.
    
It is also likely to take up on Monday, an application filed by Ghandy seeking medical treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. He is said to be suffering from prostrate cancer. Ghandy had earlier filed an application before the court expressing his willingness to withdraw the "forcible confession" made before the police following his arrest.
He has been brought here from Andhra Pradesh after being in custody there since November 18 to face charges under the
Explosive Substances Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in a case registered in Karimnagar district in 2008.
    
The Delhi police, which had on October 31 secured a green signal from a lower court to conduct narco-analysis test on
Ghandy, suffered a setback after the Delhi High Court stayed it on his plea that constitutional validity of the invasive
test has been challenged before the Supreme Court. His release, along with that of two other leaders, was reportedly demanded by Maoists for the safe return of abducted Jharkhand police Inspector Francis Induwar who was later beheaded near Ranchi.
    
An alumni of the prestigious Doon School, Ghandy was in the top echelons of erstwhile CPI-ML (People's War Group) from
1981 and continued as Central Committee member in CPI (Maoist). He was elected to its Politburo in 2007.

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