Delhi Police’s travails to get Dinakaran aide’s custody

New Delhi, April 17 (IANS) Hours after AIADMK leader T.T.V. Dinakaran's close aide Sukesh Chandrasekar's arrest, Delhi Police on Monday went from one court room to another but couldn't find a judge in a court here to seek his arrest in a case of attempt to bribe Election Commission officials.

Since Chandrasekar was arrested from a south Delhi hotel on Sunday night allegedly with Rs 1.3 crore that was meant for bribing the officials, it was presumed he would be presented before the Patiala House court for his remand proceedings.

Along with journalists, Crime Branch sleuths of the police waiting for his custody were at the city court complex to attend the remand proceedings. But that was not to be.

A police officer told reporters that the accused would be presented in Tis Hazari Courts, forcing journalists to rush there along with men from the Crime Branch.

At 4.40 p.m., police brought Chandrasekar before Special Judge Poonam Chaudhary in court room number 25. But the concerned judge was on a half-day leave.

The accused was then taken to link court room number 313 of Special Judge M.K. Nagpal. Here, too, luck didn't favour the police. The judge was not available.

The accused was brought to court room number 139 of Special Judge Hemani Malhotra. Alas! She was also not there.

The police then decided to knock at Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Satish Kumar Arora's doors in room number 38. Same fate as the magistrate was unavailable.

It went on for about 30 minutes before the police finally decided that the accused would be taken to the residence of the concerned judge to seek the custody of the 27-year-old suspect who has reportedly confessed he was playing the middleman for Dinakaran to bribe poll officials to reclaim the AIADMK's disputed and now frozen "two leaves" symbol.

Finally, Judge Chaudhary remanded him to eight days' police custody.