Non-bailable warrants against prime accused

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 22

A local court today issued non-bailable warrants against Jagpal Beniwal, the prime accused in the Edu kidnapping case. He was granted bail on November 21 and failed to appear in the court twice after he was given bail.

The court issued non bailable warrants against Beniwal for January 5.

While he sought exemption from appearance in court on previous two hearings on medical grounds ever since he got bail, he failed to appear in the court today too following which the court issued non-bailable warrants against him.

The accused, who was arrested for kidnapping a five-year-old girl, Edu, from a Sector 22-based hotel in January last year, had given a trying time to the UT police also. The accused was arrested nine months after the kidnapping incident.Three-year-old Harmieini, alias Eddu, was kidnapped by her father’s business partner Jagpal Baniwal on January 14 last year and Beniwal had evaded arrested for nine months before he finally surrendered. The police had recovered the child from a village in Haryana on January 20, 2013, and had arrested a woman accused Chinar Dutt then. Baniwal was also wanted in connection of an attempt to murder case in Tohana in Fatehabad, Haryana. The police had recovered the girl a week after her kidnapping from her relative’s place near Jind where Beniwal had dropped her after negotiations with the girl’s parents Harish Arora and Priya Arora whom he was blackmailing to pay ransom. The police said Harish and Priya, parents of the kidnapped girl Harmeini had then entered into a settlement with the accused and had assured them of withdrawing the complaint against them in writing following which the girl was released.Police investigations revealed that Hairsh Arora and Priya Arora owed Rs 60 lakh to the accused and they had also given him some cheques, which had bounced. This had irked Jagpal, so he kidnapped his daughter and demanded the ransom money.

Harmieini was kidnapped from Hotel Royal Inn in Sector 22 on January 15 and her mother Priya Arora had received a ransom call from Jagpal demanding Rs 60 lakh for her release. Jagpal was arrested in October last year.