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Staff Reporter

Rajasthan team meets Home Secretary, DGP

BHUBANESWAR: A team of the Rajasthan police, which has been trailing Director-General of Police (Home Guard and Fire Service) B.B. Mahanti for the last three days to arrest him, has decided to continue its search till Thursday.

The DGP, who was accused of abetting his son's disappearance, had taken casual leave on medical grounds and he was supposed to join duty on May 31.

The Rajasthan team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Mukund Behari met Home Secretary Tarun Kanti Mishra and Director-General of Police Amarananda Pattanayak at the Secretariat here on Wednesday. They inquired if Mahanti followed guidelines while availing himself of the casual leave.

Emerging from the meeting, Mr. Behari said: "Mr. Mahanti should have given his contact address. We are trying to locate him. We had even gone to a few hospitals and he was not there. We will be waiting till May 31."

Asked if they would leave for Rajasthan without Mahanti, the DSP said the team would act according to the instructions from their higher-ups.

Arrest process

Speaking to newsmen, Mr. Mishra said: "There is no restriction on the Rajasthan police on arresting Mahanti. But they cannot take him to Rajasthan directly. The will have to inform a local police station and produce him before a local judicial magistrate."

If the judicial magistrate was satisfied with the documents empowering arrest execution, then only Mahanti could be taken, the Home Secretary said. The Director-General of Police was, however, of a different view. He said there was no legal requisition from the Rajasthan police to arrest Mahanti. "They have only sought security arrangement for the team. The police have provided one section of personnel to the team," Mr. Pattanayak said.

Charge denied

The Home Secretary denied the allegation that the State police had not cooperated with the team. "They have even searched Mahanti's kitchen. This is the extent of cooperation the State police have extended," he said.

According to the government rules, one could extend casual leave up to 10 days for which he would have to inform the department. Mahanti's son Bitihotra, who was convicted of raping a German scholar and lodged in Jaipur jail, jumped parole.

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