Date:24/05/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/05/24/stories/2007052416620400.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

HC rejects bail plea of employee

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday rejected an anticipatory application by a High Court employee whose name figures in an alleged case of swindling of crores of rupees.

In his petition, C. Dhanaraj said he was initially involved in the starting of Darshinika Foundation and that he had resigned from it in 2003 and the money swindling started only after June 2005.

He said he was formerly treasurer of Darshanika Foundation for Rehabilitation of Physically Handicapped and Promotion of Rural Development Programme which, the police claimed, had allegedly duped thousands of investors of nearly Rs. 230 crore.

He said his resignation as treasurer had been accepted on December 2, 2003 and the cheating case against the foundation was filed in August 2006. He said though the fraud was first reported in April 2005, the Shankarapuram police had not only registered cases against him but also arrested him on charges of cheating. He said he was not involved in the collection of deposits from the people and the cases booked by the police pertained to the period after he left the job.

He said he had sought for bail before the lower court but this had been rejected by the Fast Track Court (FTC-Sessions Judge) 5 on April 10, 2007. In its order, the FTC had noted that "prima facie material on record disclose that the that the main intention of floating the foundation under the guise of helping the physically handicapped and economically develop villages was to cheat the general public."

State Public Prosecutor S. Dore Raju opposed he bail plea saying that the foundation had duped scores of depositors and that bail should not be given.