An absconder in a Rs 28-crore co-operative bank-scam case, who was a Congress candidate in the last Assembly elections, was sheltered inside the Gujarat High Court premises yesterday until an order staying his arrest was obtained late at night, police said. The ‘‘hiding place’’ was the office (Room No 432) of Congress leader and former minister Shaktisinh Gohil, who practices in the court. Police said that though they were sure the wanted man, Gaurav Pandya, was inside, they didn’t enter ‘‘out of respect for the court premises.’’ Asked how could his chamber be used to shelter an absconder, Gohil told The Indian Express: ‘‘I am a lawyer and have high regard for the judiciary. As this matter is sub judice, I would not like to comment.’’ Police said they received a tip-off on Thursday afternoon that Pandya, a former director of the Valsad People’s Co-operative Bank Ltd, was in the court premises. Pandya faces charges of conniving with a Mumbai investment firm that allegedly cheated the bank. He has been evading arrest for more than six months now. ‘‘Our men could have gone inside and arrested him, but we didn’t want to demean the sanctity of the court,’’ said Deputy Commissioner (Crime) Manoj Sashidharan. ‘‘So we kept vigil outside. But those who sheltered him have shown the court in bad light and set a bad precedent.’’ ‘‘He stayed inside till late in the evening. We saw Gohil and another lawyer emerge and leave after locking the chamber. But the air-conditioning and lights inside were on. We are sure he was inside,’’ said an officer on the team that stood vigil. ‘‘Then, at night, we were served orders from a High Court judge that he should not be arrested. Then we had to leave.’’ Late in the evening, Gohil and three other lawyers moved an application before Justice D H Waghela, who is hearing Pandya’s plea that charges against him be quashed. The judge summoned the public prosecutor to his residence at night and ordered that Pandya should not be arrested till September 2. Speaking to The Indian Express, Pandya’s advocate Harin Raval said: ‘‘Yes, we obtained the order late in the night. We can talk about the other details later.’’ Pandya was a director of the Valsad People’s Cooperative Bank Ltd and a member of its investment committee. The bank’s board of directors decided to invest in Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corp bonds. However, the investment committee did not approve of this. Instead, it was decided that the bank would pay Home Trade Ltd, Mumbai, to purchase government securities, including those of the corporation. Over a period of time, Home Trade was paid Rs 28.75 crore. But the securities were never delivered. A case was filed on October 15, 2004. The Valsad police alleged that Pandya had arranged for meetings between bank and Home Trade officials. He was present at the meetings and allegedly influenced the investment decision. On June 9, police named him in the chargesheet and he was declared an absconder. On June 29, Pandya moved high court seeking that charges against him be quashed. The next day, a warrant for his arrest was issued by a Valsad court. ‘‘Pandya’s involvement is confirmed,’’ said Superintendent of Police (Valsad) Abhaysinh Chudasama. ‘‘He’s an absconding accused and has been evading arrest for a long time.’’
