Six city businessmen reportedly picked up by DRI officials, tortured for four days and then produced in court. Magistrate takes note of 'illegal detention,' may seek explanation from revenue intelligence men

On October 25 at 7 am, Pradeep Kumar, a businessman, had just woken up in his Ghaziabad residence and was on his way to the bathroom when a group of men in civil clothes barged into his house and asked him to accompany them to their office. They identified themselves as officials from the Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).



They also searched his house.

Kumar's crime, as the DRI men explained, was that he was part of a syndicate which took duty drawbacks from the government to the tune of Rs 20 crore.

Kumar was reportedly taken to his office in east Delhi which was also searched.

"My brother Pradeep was picked up from his Ghaziabad residence at 7 in the morning. He had just woken up and was going to the bathroom when the DRI men came in civil clothes. They barely gave him time to change and took him straight to his Laxmi Nagar office where they conducted raids," Kumar's cousin Umesh Kumar said, while speaking to Mid DAY.

Six men in the net

But Kumar was not alone.

Five other businessmen, including, one identified as Harmesh Arora from South Delhi, were allegedly arrested by the DRI officials the same morning from different parts of Delhi for the crime.

According to the complaints filed by the families of the alleged victims, the six men were detained illegally, tortured and forced to confess to crimes they hadn't committed in the custody of the DRI officials for four-and-a half days before they were produced in the court.

Court takes note

On November 28, the six men were produced in front of a duty magistrate at around 5 pm and on November 29 they were brought to the session court of Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Ajay Pandey.

Interestingly, following the complaints and missing persons' reports filed by the victims' families at various police stations, the session court took 'cognizance' of the illegal detention by the DRI officials and forging of documents by the officials to support the arrest. The court also took note of the illegal confinement by the DRI officials for extortion of confessional statements of the accused. The court is now expected to seek explanations from the DRI.

"During this period of four-and-half-days my brother was tortured and the DRI men also forcibly extracted a confessional statement from him," said Umesh.u00a0u00a0u00a0

He also alleged that while his brother and the other businessmen were in DRI custody, their families were not offered any information about them. "We also complained to the police but there was no sign of Pradeep. We waited at the court everyday hoping that the DRI officials would produce them. But they took four days to do so," said Umesh.

DRI lying?

Allegedly, the DRI officials informed the court that the six businessmen had been arrested on October 28 and were produced in front of the duty magistrate the next day itself.
Reportedly, after the DRI officials gave contradictory statements in the session's court, the additional metropolitan magistrate took cognizance of the fact that not one but all the victims' families had filed missing person's reports during the period in which they were allegedly detained by the DRI officials.

By the book
According to the law, police officials or any investigative agency has to produce in court people arrested by them within 24 hours of the arrest. The law says it is illegal to detain those arrested without court appearance.

The offence
The six businessmen have been accused of taking duty drawbacks under Section 135(a) and 132 of the Customs Act. The next hearing of the case is on November 5.