Fresh trouble for Babla: another case

The UT police registered the fourth case charging the councillor under Section 353 of the IPC late on Friday night. The police had earlier sought legal opinion in the case.

Babla has already been booked in three cases pertaining to irregularities in the allotment of sheds in the grain market,cheating and forgery in order to facilitate to provide a job to a family friend on forged documents and a case by the UT Vigilance department involving irregularities in a 2007 auction of a parking lot of the market committee. Ever since his surrender on December 28,after being on the run for four months,Babla has been facing the heat as case after case is being slapped on him. He is currently lodged in Burail jail. Investigation of fresh charges has also been handed over to the Special Crime Investigation Cell,it was learnt.

Gets 14 days’ judicial custody in cheating case

Congress councillor Devinder Singh Babla was sent to judicial custody for 14 days in the cheating case registered against him on January 4. Already in judicial custody in the case of illegal allotment of sheds,Babla surrendered today in a case of cheating and criminal conspiracy. He was taken in judicial custody following strong opposition by the police.

The case in which he surrendered today pertains to recruitment of an auction recorder allegedly on fake certificates. On Friday,the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Anshul Berry had allowed Babla’s application wanting to surrender. The police had,however,strongly opposed the application taking the plea that an accused cannot dictate the path of investigation.

Senior standing counsel of the UT Administration,Anupam Gupta,today said they will challenge the allowance of the application in the High Court. Gupta also said that they cannot take the accused in police custody as they had opposed Babla’s surrender in the first place. “Since the order issuing production warrants for January 9 is proposed to be challenged in the High Court,the investigating agency respectfully pleads its inability to take the accused into custody at this stage,” said Anupam Gupta.

On the other hand,Babla’s bail application in the case of illegal allotment of sheds was withdrawn by the defence counsel today. Babla,meanwhile,moved another application seeking to surrender in the third case registered against him by the UT Vigilance Cell this week. The application is slated to be heard next week.