Fraud case: No bail for man accused of selling 'antique' binoculars

Saurabh Malik

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Chandigarh, June 9

When a Zirakpur resident paid Rs 2.5 crore for one of the “rarest and antique binoculars in the world”, there was no way he could see that an alleged “huge fraud” was being played upon him. More than five months after a cheating case was registered on his complaint, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed the bail plea of an accused in the case.

What the court said

The allegations against the petitioner are that he, along with his associates/gang members, made the complainant believe that they possess one of rarest and antique binoculars in the world and under that pretext made him pay Rs 2.5 crore. — Justice Anoop Chitkara

“The allegations against the petitioner are that he, along with his associates/gang members, made the complainant believe that they possess one of rarest and antique binoculars in the world and under that pretext made the complainant pay a sum of Rs 2.5 crore,” Justice Anoop Chitkara asserted.

An FIR in the matter was registered on December 14 last year for cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy at the Zirakpur police station under Sections 406, 420 and 120-B of the IPC. Justice Chitkara’s Bench was told that the petitioner, incarcerating upon his arrest in the FIR, had approached the court seeking regular bail.

Among other things, it was contended before the Bench that the accused did not have a criminal history. His counsel contended that pre-trial incarceration would cause an irreversible injustice to the petitioner and family.

The state counsel, on the other hand, contended that the petitioner had indulged in cheating. “Thugee” was raising its ugly head, and it was time to nip the evil in the bud. The complainant’s counsel added that the petitioner and his gang played a “huge fraud” upon the complainant taking advantage of his innocence and trust in human beings. Such persons were not at all entitled to bail.

After hearing rival contentions and going through the case files, Justice Chitkara added that the sly manner in which the petitioner and his accomplices conned, tricked, deceived and swindled the gullible complainant, pointed towards the dangerous trend of revival of “thugee”. If not sternly dealt with now, it might upsurge “revisiting the history”.

Turning down the plea, Justice Chitkara added that the gravity of the offence did not entitle the petitioner to bail at the current stage.