Cops 145;hide146; report giving clean chit to Atiq146;s brother

Still, not only did the police fail to make the report public, they filed a chargesheet against Azim and a few

others on September 14, 2008. The chargesheets against the rest were filed in October 2007.

They have also linked Rashid Faridi, a local businessman to the case, who reportedly has no link with Atiq or his brother.

The FIR against Azim 8212; a former Samajwadi Party MLA 8212; and others were lodged following a complaint by Shyamji, a resident of Karelabagh.

It was alleged that Ashraf and his associates had grabbed a one-kilometre stretch of canal land belonging to the Irrigation Department in Kareli and developed a township on it.

The police had raided the houses of the accused and arrested nine people. At the time, Azim, booked in another case, was absconding.

Police ransacked Faridi8217;s house and not finding him home, allegedly harassed his relatives.

On October 22, 2007, Senior Superintendent of Police Dipesh Juneja had written to then District Magistrate Ashish Kumar Goel to verify the facts.

Following an inquiry by the state irrigation department, Goel wrote back to the SSP on November 26, 2007, informing him that the allegations were false.

8220;No canal existed on the said land and there is no record of government acquisition of the said plot in the revenue records. The 845-m-long canal at Karelabagh locality, which is far from the disputed site, is still intact,8221; the irrigation department report, in possession of The

Indian Express, states.

By the time Goel8217;s letter came, the police had already filed the first chargesheet.

But instead of withdrawing it, the police kept the report under wraps and followed it up with another chargesheet this September.

Superintendent of Police Awdhesh Singh Vijeta said he had no information regarding any FIR or the report of the district administration. 8220;If the Kareli police had lodged a wrong FIR, they will be taken to task,8221; he said.

Faridi, however, said he was planning to file a defamation case against the Kareli police, the then circle officer T N Tripathi and then SP Jugal Kishore for ransacking his house and framing him in a false case.

8220;They not only tarnished my image, but also caused loss of property, physical and mental torture,8221; he said.

Ahmed8217;s lawyer Radhey Shyam Pandey said: 8220;One by one, all cases registered against Atiq and his men will prove fakes in the absence of evidence. A Chitrakoot court on November 17 had exempted Atiq and others from charges in a dacoity case. It shows the police are deliberately harassing him.8221;