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Fake Connection Scam Chitleen K. Sethi Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 23 In a detailed order passed last week, chief judicial magistrate S.P. Singh has stated that the request has not been made in good faith and acceding to such a request “will thwart and stifle the process of law. The cause of the rule of law and public interest shall be served by the prosecution of the accused and not otherwise.” Criminal cases had been registered against officials of mobile companies such as Hutch and Airtel as well as certain private individuals for their alleged involvement in the fake connection scam that came to light last year. Buckling under pressure from various quarters, the Hooda government had decided to withdraw cases against company officials. This was despite the fact that senior police officers, including one ADGP, had claimed that there was enough evidence to proceed against the companies as per law. Instances of large number of fake connections came to light when the Kaithal police, while investigating use of mobiles in exhortations and threat calls, unearthed a racket of mass forgery and impersonations. To their disbelief, the police found that 70 per cent of the total pre-paid mobile telephone connections in Haryana had been given on the basis of fake documents. In one case, a poor plumber from Rewari was shown to have taken over 18,000 pre-paid connections. Similarly, a Jind resident was using over 5000 pre-paid connections. Of the 24 FIRs that were registered across the state, charge sheets have also been filed by the police in three cases. The police claim that fake connections were being generated in full knowledge of the top honchos of these companies and not just at the level of the distributor. In one such case, the police also procured a set of e-mails sent by the company’s data collecting agency to a senior official of the company listing details the “original” and “other” connections. But overlooking the glaring evidence against the companies, the state Home Department issued instructions to the district magistrate, Kaithal, to withdraw cases against the companies and some senior officials of these companies in December last year. However on February 17, the CJM S.P. Singh while turning down the plea of the prosecution to withdraw cases against some of these accused also observed that in the present case, it was clear that the offences could not have been committed without the involvement of all accused. He also ruled that the intention to withdraw prosecution was nothing but a discriminatory act on part of the government. The CJM also pointed to the fact that while one wing of the state, the police, was filing a chargesheet on the basis of a lot of material evidence, the government was, on the other hand, directing the prosecution to withdraw the prosecution. He also observed that it was also not mentioned under which circumstances and grounds had the government decided to withdraw prosecution. S.P. Singh also observed that no public purpose was achieved by the government move. The court order comes as a sharp rebuke for the government effort to come to the aid of the beleaguered companies and their officials.
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