CBI told to probe ‘abduction’ of dentist by Chandigarh Police

New Delhi, August 21

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The Supreme Court has ordered the CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry to probe the alleged abduction of a dentist by Chandigarh Police to prevent him from appearing in a court.

A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah said it was not inclined to interfere with a Punjab and Haryana High Court order that directed for the registration of an FIR and setting up of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the issue.

The court asked the CBI to inquire whether the doctor was “detained or arrested” by the Chandigarh Police at the Sector 19 police station and produced before the local magistrate within 24 hours. It will also inquire whether the “detention or arrest” of the doctor amounted to abduction.

Dhawan, a Chandigarh-based dentist, had filed a suit for the recovery of some dues owed to him by a woman from Nairobi in Kenya for her treatment. His lawyer had told the court that due to this, the dentist had been implicated in a series of complaints about improper treatment allegedly provided to the woman.

“Three complaints were filed against him and in two of those he managed to get anticipatory bail. In the third one, he was asked to be present before a magistrate. But on the day of the hearing, he was abducted by a team of the Chandigarh Crime Branch, while another team marked their appearance in court,” his lawyer said.