False kidnapping claim by cash-for-votes witness: Police
A court here was Monday asked by Delhi Police to dismiss a complaint by Hasmat Ali, a key prosecution witness in the 2008 cash-for-votes scam case, that Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh and others had kidnapped him ahead of his deposition before a parliamentary panel.
Ali had claimed that he was kidnapped Sep 25, 2008 by co-accused Tarun and Ramesh and was taken to the Lodhi Estate bungalow of former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh when he was to record his testimony before a parliamentary inquiry committee constituted to probe the scam.
The Delhi Police, in its report filed before Metropolitan Magistrate Sudesh Kumar, said that according to its inquiry, no such incident occurred.
“We have found that no incident of forcibly putting Hasmat Ali in a car and taking him away happened 25 Sep, 2008,” the police said in its report.
“From the inquiry, the allegation in the complaint of Hasmat Ali were not found substantiated and hence no FIR was registered. The petition is an afterthought and without merit, it deserves to be dismissed,” it added.
The judge fixed the matter for hearing Nov 28. Ali's complaint, filed through counsel L.K. Verma, says: "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."
"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 the police in the presence of media," the complaint added.
Ali claimed Amar Singh wanted him to give a favourable testimony before the parliamentary panel.
