Rs 1-cr extortion case: Court junks accused’s plea for call details of DSP, probe officer

A sessions court has dismissed a revision petition filed by former ASI Naveen Phogat against a trial court’s order dated February 27, 2024, by virtue of which the application for seeking issuing direction to the nodal officer of Airtel to preserve call details, location of police officers and its production in the court was dismissed.

The police had arrested Phogat, the then Additional SHO of the Sector 39 police station, and three others in an alleged extortion case involving over Rs 1 crore in 2023.

Phogat, in his application filled before the then Judicial Magistrate First Class, Chandigarh, said after his surrender in the court on November 24, 2023, the police took him into custody and got his remand for three days from November 25 to 27. He was later sent to judicial custody. The counsel for Phogat argued that at the time of the police remand, the applicant was kept at Palsora police post and beaten up.

The applicant wanted the call details and location of the Investigating Officer and DSP Charanjit Sing Virk to show that they were present at the time of police remand. The Public Prosecutor argued that the applicant had no right to seek the call details as every individual had a right to privacy. Moreover, the applicant had not stated the purpose.

The police had registered the case on a complaint by Sanjay Goyal, a Bathinda-based businessman, against Phogat and other policemen. Goyal alleged that Phogat and other persons forcefully took Rs 1.01 crore from him, which he was carrying for a deal, at Sector 40 market on August 4, 2023.