Gurgaon: A regular bail hearing in a cyber fraud case turned embarrassing for police after a court sifting through the investigation file found blank sheets carrying signatures of the accused.The discovery forced police to admit a “serious procedural lapse” and promise a departmental inquiry into how signed blank papers became part of an official case record.The court of additional district judge Gagan Geet Kaur also found that the case file had not been paginated, raising questions about how investigation records were being maintained and whether proper safeguards were being followed. The court had the file paginated and sought an affidavit from ACP (cyber) Gaurav Phogat, asking him to explain the circumstances under which the signed blank papers came to be part of the file.The affidavit filed by Phogat on Aug 18 revealed the extent of the lapse. Five blank pages carried the signatures of Mahender Kumar Meena, six each were signed by Pawan and Bhawani, four by Rahul Kumar, three by Vishal Maurya and five by Arvind Kumar. Another blank page bore Vishal’s signature on its reverse, while two blank pages were signed by Nathani Bhavesh Bhai.In his affidavit, Phogat admitted that the lapse was serious and said he “deeply regretted” it. He assured the court that a departmental inquiry would be conducted and that such a practice would not be repeated in the future.The ACP also made clear the position of the police department on obtaining signatures on blank sheets. Such a practice, he told the court, was “wholly impermissible”. He said an explanation had been sought from the investigating officer and assured the court that appropriate departmental action, including a thorough inquiry, would be taken against those responsible.Police also acknowledged another lapse. They admitted that proceedings conducted during the investigation were not signed by the investigating officer or other officials concerned. Phogat undertook to independently verify all documents forming part of the investigation and ensure that no defective document was relied upon in the final report.Police have since cited a fresh DCP circular aimed at tightening supervision and ensuring proper maintenance of investigation files. The ACP informed the court that DCP (headquarters) had issued the circular on Aug 14, asking investigating officers to maintain files properly and systematically and instructing SHOs to supervise them.The court’s scrutiny went beyond the bail plea itself. Although the proceedings began on whether the accused should be released, the examination of the police records brought into focus the manner in which the cybercrime investigation had been conducted and documented.The court was hearing the bail plea of Ritesh Kumar, who was arrested on July 21 in an FIR registered at cyber crime police station in Manesar over an alleged online job fraud. The complainant had allegedly been lured into making successive payments on the promise of a part-time job and was ultimately defrauded of Rs 10.9 lakh.Kumar’s counsel argued that the investigating officer had not followed safeguards laid down by the Supreme Court in Arnesh Kumar vs State of Bihar and cited bail granted to some of the co-accused. It was then that the sessions court examined the police records.The prosecution, however, maintained that Kumar’s case was different from that of the co-accused who had secured bail. Police told the court that Rs 1.5 lakh of the defrauded money had been transferred into a bank account linked to Kumar. The court rejected his plea for bail on parity, observing that the co-accused cited by him were not beneficiary account holders and their roles were not similar.
