Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Lokayukta court, on Tuesday, issued jail warrant against three police men including ASP Deepak Thakur for allegedly demanding money from Pune-based Rini Johar and her Lawyer mother Gulshan Johar for helping them in connection with a cyber fraud case.
Investigating officer(IO) Neelam Patwa said, “ jail warrant has been issued to ASP Deepak Thakur, constable Indrapal Singh and head constable Irshat for demanding bribe in cyber fraud case.”
Rini Johar had complained to the State lokayukta against the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Cyber Cell Deepak Thakur for demanding a bribe of Rs five lakh to settle the case. Johar said she paid the amount in two installments to the said officer.
The lokayukta Police made preliminary enquiry on June 18, 2015 and held a prima facie case to be made out against the Deputy SP and three other officials to be tried for corruption charges under Prevention of Corruption Act.
Even Supreme Court, in 2016, had awarded Rs10 lakh compensation to two women who were arrested by the Madhya Pradesh Police in 2012 flouting all set guidelines and laws that made their custody illegal.
The two women a doctors Rini Johar and her septuagenarian lawyer-mother Gulshan Johar are based in Pune. They had approached the apex court challenging their arrest on November 27, 2012 on a complaint filed by a Bhopal resident Vikram Rajput who purchased an aura camera from Rini Johar, the sole distributor of the US-manufactured machine in India.
He had purchased the machine in 2012 after receiving a demo of the product at Pune. But on his return to Bhopal, he alleged fraud against Rini and the product manufacturer and filed a complaint with the Cyber Cell.
The Bhopal Cyber Cell travelled to Pune to arrest Rini Johar and even took into custody her old mother who had no role in the transaction. However, both were released on bail later on.
Hurt by the humiliation they had to suffer at the hands of the police and with no sanction from Magistrate while taking them from Pune to Bhopal, Johars approached the apex court for violation of their fundamental right to live with dignity under Article 21. SC finally directed the MP Government to pay a compensation of Rs5 lakh each to both women within three months and quashed all prosecution launched against Rini Johar.
