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Court restrains police in Chahal case

Staff Correspondent

Orders four days' notice before arresting Chahal in any fresh case

CHANDIGARH: A vacation bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Punjab Police to issue at least four days' notice before arresting Bharat Inder Singh Chahal, the media adviser to former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, in any fresh case registered against him.

Taking up the petition filed by Mr. Chahal, who has demanded a CBI probe into "false cases" being registered against him, the Court ordered a daily medical examination of the petitioner, two meetings with his lawyers every day, and directed the police not to conduct any interrogation or questioning at night.

He had pleaded that during his remand in police custody officers of the police and the Vigilance Bureau had tortured and humiliated him.

While Mr. Chahal's counsel, R. S. Cheema, referred to media reports about the ill-treatment meted out to the former media adviser during custody, the Advocate-General, H. S. Mattewal, argued that no complaint to this effect was ever made to the State Government.

The Court also issued notices to Punjab's Home Secretary, Director-General of Police (DGP) and the Senior Superitendent of Police of Patiala returnable by July 4. The Court said that any directions forthcoming from the Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear a bunch of petitions filed by the State against the High Court orders in the Ludhiana City Centre scam, would be applicable to the proceedings of the present case against Mr. Chahal.

The High Court had previously stayed the arrest of Capt. Amarinder Singh, his wife Preneet Kaur, their son Raninder Singh, former Local Bodies Minister Jagjit Singh, Mr. Chahal and proprietors of company constructing the City Centre.

While Mr. Chahal faces a probe in the multi-crore Ludhiana City Centre scam being pursued by the Vigilance Bureau, the Ludhiana district police arrested him for his alleged involvement in a case of alleged attempt to murder, land grab and rioting.

The police of Patiala city, where Mr. Chahal belongs, has booked him in two cases of cheating and forgery.

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Court restrains police in Chahal case

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