Amit Jogi again denied bail in cheating and forgery case

A court in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district on Wednesday denied bail to former chief minister Ajit Jogi's son Amit Jogi, who was arrested on charges of cheating and forgery in connection with declaration in the poll affidavit submitted by him in 2013, police said.

Amit Jogi, who now heads the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J), was arrested on Tuesday from the official residence of his father in Bilaspur town following a police complaint lodged by Sameera Paikra, BJP candidate from the Marwahi seat in the 2013 Assembly polls.

Amit Jogi was on Tuesday produced in the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) in Gaurela-Pendra Road which sent him to judicial remand for 14 days after rejecting his bail plea.

He later filed another bail application in the court of the additional district and session judge at Pendra Road.

On Wednesday, Jogi was produced before Additional District and Session Judge Vinay Kumar Pradhan, who also rejected his bail plea, Additional Public Prosecutor Pawan Tripathi said.

Amit Jogi argued in person in the court.

After hearing both sides, the court first reserved its order and later rejected Amit Jogi's bail plea, Tripathi added.

Paikra had lodged the FIR against Amit Jogi in February this year at the Gaurela police station here.

He had alleged that Amit Jogi submitted wrong information about his birth place in the affidavit while filing his nomination papers for the 2013 polls, Bilaspur Superintendent of Police Prashant Agrawal said.

According to Paikra, he mentioned his birth place as Sarbahara village in the Gaurela area of Bilaspur, whereas, she claimed, he was born in the US, the official had said.

Amit Jogi was booked under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), police said.

Amit Jogi had won the 2013 Assembly poll from Bilaspur's Marwahi seat, reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates, defeating Paikra.

After losing the polls, Paikra had filed an election petition in the Chhattisgarh High Court, challenging the veracity of Amit Jogi's caste and place of birth.

The high court had dismissed the petition in January this year on grounds that the term of the Chhattisgarh Assembly (2013-2018) had already ended.

Ajit Jogi, the founder of the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J), had said his son has been "framed" on false charges and dubbed the action against him as "political vendetta".