Sector 37 Property Grab Case: Accused used to drug victim, beat him up, says witness

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Chandigarh, February 2

A prosecution witnesses in the alleged property grab case of Sector 37 today told a local court that the accused illegally occupied Rahul Mehta’s house, used to beat him and gave him drugs.

The prosecution produced two witnesses, Amit Gupta and Tarun Kumar, aka Tarsem, before the court for examination. While the latter witness was examined, the court deferred further examination in chief of the former. Gupta complained of sickness and requested the court to defer his further examination.

Tarsem told the court that in 2017, he ran a shop and Surjit, aka Bouncer, Daljit, aka, Rubal, Shekhar and Sanjeev Mahajan were known to him. He said Surjit told him that he had occupied and trespassed in kothi number 340, Sector 37. He said he, along with Shekhar, went to the kothi and met Daljit, Mahajan and four-five bouncers. Tarsem claimed that he found Rahul Mehta lying intoxicated and was told that he was a drug addict and the owner of the house. He said during his visits to the house, he found that the accused used to beat Rahul Mehta.

Tarsem said one day, he received a phone call from Mahajan that Rahul Mehta had run away from the house. He, along with Shekhar, Surjit and Mahajan, went to Delhi. They searched for Rahul Mehta at different night shelters there and found him in one of them.

He said while they were bringing Rahul Mehta back to the city, Mahajan received a phone call and told the caller that Rahul Mehta had been traced and ‘we will meet in the Estate Office’. He said a few days later, he found that the accused were beating up Rahul Mehta and were also giving him drugs in a flat.

Before deferring of his examination, Amit Gupta told that court that he ran a medical store in Sector 37. A neighbouring shopkeeper had brought Rahul Mehta to his shop for dressing wounds on his left leg. The dressing was required on alternate days.

Amit said 10 days later, Mahajan asked him to stop the dressing treatment without telling the reason. He said after some time, Rahul Mehta went missing.

Four police personnel, namely Ram Pal, Parminder, Ashok and Veeru, aka Varinder, then took him away from his shop to the Sector 39 police station.

SHO Rajdeep Singh and other cops enquired from him the whereabouts of Rahul Mehta. He said he was interrogated continuously for three days using different methods. He said Rahul Mehta was traced after three days following which he was let off by the police with a stern direction that he should not meet Rahul Mehta.