HC cancels anticipatory bail to cop in trafficking racket

The Delhi High Court has cancelled the anticipatory bail of a police sub-inspector, wanted by the city police for running a human trafficking racket in collusion with various immigration and airline officials.

Justice Manmohan cancelled the anticipatory bail granted to SI Naveen Upadhyay on a plea by the city police, which had earlier issued a lookout circular (LOC) against him.
A lower court had given him bail on May 21, 2011. The court accepted the argument of State’s Standing Counsel (Criminal) Pawan Sharma’s argument that without any change of circumstances, the trial court had granted anticipatory bail to the SI within sixteen days of its earlier order of May 4 last year, when he was refused anticipatory bail.

“Having heard the parties and having perused the two orders of May 4, 2011 and May 21, 2011 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ), this court is of the view that there was no change of circumstances warranting grant of anticipatory bail to the accused,” the court said in an order.

The court also accepted the police argument that Upadhyay had filed an application before the court additional chief metropolitan magistrate (ACMM) to surrender but despite several hearings he had failed to surrender so far.

“The court is of the view that had the ASJ perused the proceedings before learned ACMM on the surrender application of the accused, it would have been apparent to him that in fact, the accused had never surrendered before the court,” the court also said.

According to police, Upadhyay, posted with the security wing of the Delhi Police at IGI Airport since 2010, has been evading arrest since the racket was unearthed.
He was the main conduit between an agent from Gujarat, the immigration official and the airline employee (at  Jet Airways) posted at the airport and the passengers paid anywhere between Rs 17 to 30 lakh to the accused to help trafficked people fly out of the country, the police said.

On April 3 last year, the Delhi Police had arrested Immigration Officer Chaman Azhar for allegedly facilitating the travel of passengers on forged immigration stamps.
Four passengers belonging to Mumbai and Gujarat, including three women, were also arrested.

The alleged fraud was detected after a woman was deported on March 4, 2011 from Brussels, Belgium, for travelling on a forged immigration stamp.

As per the police, the other accused — Manoj Sarpal — employed as a commercial staff member with Jet Airways, used to provide fake boarding passes to passengers.
Police claimed after arresting Sanjay Bhai, an alleged agent, from Mehsana in Gujarat, it found that Upadhyay was the main link between the immigration officials, the airline employee and the agent.