Haryana ex-minister's plea seeking passport rejected

A court on Wednesday dismissed the plea of former Haryana minister Sukhbir Kataria, one of the accused in an alleged bogus vote scam, seeking the return of his passport seized by Gurugram police.

The court said the former minister did not deserve it (passport).

Kataria, an ex-legislator from Gurugram assembly seat, along with some of his relatives, a domestic help, a few block-level and Food and Supply Department officials were booked in the case after a district court issued the order to lodge a fresh complaint against them in May last year.

Om Prakash Kataria, a volunteer from Gurgaon Gaon, Kataria's native village, had approached the district court to file an FIR against the accused.

Kataria's passport was impounded by Gurugram police last year after an FIR was registered in Sector 5 police station.

He had filed a petition in the Court of Judicial Magistrate 1st Class Sukhdev Singh for the return of his passport.

The former minister said his son has completed LLB and wanted to go abroad for higher studies. He urged the court to return his passport as he desired to go with his son for admission in a university there.

In his status report submitted in the court, police officer Bijender Singh said Kataria's son has not completed LLB yet.

Singh said a case of using unfair means during the exams of the Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, has been pending against the former minister's son and he has also failed in the fifth semester.

The court rejected Kataria's plea on the basis of the police report.

Kataria, who was minister during the second tenure of Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress government of Haryana, has also been accused of misusing public fund during his tenure.

Elected as an Independent legislator from Gurugram (then Gurgaon) constituency, he extended his support to Hooda and was made a minister.

He has been accused of preparing and using fake documents to create bogus votes, on the basis of which he won the elections.

Kataria has been facing as many as 32 cases of bogus votes in different courts.

--IANS

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