New Delhi:- The Delhi High Court today sought response of police on the bail plea of a 62-year-old man, who was arrested for allegedly running a high-profile sex racket here and trafficking of women from Central Asian countries.
Justice P S Teji directed Delhi Police to file a status report by September 14 explaining the stage of investigation into the arrest of Pritindra Nath Sanyal, who has been held on alleged charges of trafficking.
Sanyal has moved the high court challenging the trial court’s July 30 order dismissing his bail plea, saying the allegations against him were very serious in nature.
A case was registered against Sanyal at the Safdarjung Enclave Police Station in South Delhi on July 20.
Police said Sanyal was arrested after documents indicating his involvement in the illegal activity were found during raids at his residences by Income Tax authorities.
During investigation, it was found that Sanyal had sent messages to government servants and other senior functionaries posing as various MPs and top bureaucrats for getting favours in certain business deals, the cops had said.
Police have also recovered photographs and other material showing Sanyal’s alleged accomplice retired Colonel Ajay Ahlawat, who was granted bail by high court on July 11, with two Indian cricketers.
The matter came to the fore after Sanyal’s residences in Safdarjung Enclave and Vasant Kunj here and also in Lucknow were raided by Income Tax authorities in June.
Documentary evidence in the form of WhatsApp messages and SMSes were seized from his Safdarjung Enclave residence, from where the IT officials had also rescued a 23-year-old Russian woman.
Police had claimed that the SMSes and WhatsApp data of the woman’s mobile phone indicated that she was being kept against her will. Her travel documents including passport were allegedly taken away by the accused, it had alleged.
The IT raid had also led to recovery of copies of passports of other foreign nationals as well as phone numbers of dozens of women belonging to Central Asian countries from the accused’s residence.
Messages exchanged between Sanyal and his associates had revealed financial transactions related to foreign women.
PTI
