Court dismisses Sandhu’s bail plea

Tribune News Service

Mohali, April 17

In the murder case of CTU employee Abhishek Guleria, a Mohali court on Wednesday dismissed the anticipatory bail application of Lt Col BS Sandhu (retd), owner of WWICS and Forest Hill Resort, here.

Arguments on the application in question were completed on Tuesday in the court of the Mohali Additional District and Sessions Judge.

On Wednesday, the court dismissed Sandhu’s application, leaving him with an option of either joining police investigations or moving to the Punjab and Haryana High Court to file an appeal in this connection.

According to Sandhu’s counsels, they would now move to the High Court.

It is to be noted that Sandhu had already moved his anticipatory bail application in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on April 12. Then the High Court had asked the Mohali Additional Sessions Judge to make an endeavour to decide his anticipatory bail application on April 17.

Earlier, during Tuesday’s arguments Sandhu’s defence counsel had claimed that his client (Sandhu) was falsely implicated in the murder case. On the other hand, the public prosecutor had opposed Sandhu’s anticipatory bail on plea that why Sandhu or his staff did not inform the police after the recovery of Abhishek’s body from the septic tank of the Forest Hill Resort and why did they dispose of the body in a deserted area.

The Mohali police have nominated Sandhu in the murder case of Abhishek Guleria, whose highly decomposed body was recovered from a deserted area along the Pinjore-Baddi road in Haryana on March 26. The victim had gone missing on March 13 at Nayagaon after partying with his acquaintances there. An FIR in the matter was initially registered at the Nayagaon police station on March 26 under Section 365 (abduction) of the IPC.

Later, Sections 302, 201, 120-B and 34 of the IPC were added to the FIR. The police had already arrested three persons - Gurwinder Singh Bains, Tarsem Lal and Balwinder Singh - all employees of Sandhu in the case.

The case

The Mohali police have nominated Lt Col BS Sandhu (retd) in the murder case of Abhishek Guleria, whose highly decomposed body was recovered from a deserted area along the Pinjore-Baddi road in Haryana on March 26. The victim had gone missing on March 13 at Nayagaon after partying with his acquaintances there. An FIR in the matter was initially registered at the Nayagaon police station on March 26 under Section 365 (abduction) of the IPC.