2016 Soudha cash seizure case heading to dead end?

BENGALURU: The case of a huge amount of cash seized from a car at gate no one of Vidhana Soudha in October 2016, has made little progress two years later . Officials fear that the case will not stand in court due to loss of crucial evidence. The car was owned by a lawyer identified as Siddharth HM, son of a former district judge and son-in-law of a former High Court judge.

The incident had occurred on October 21, 2016, when `1.97 crore was found in Siddharth’s car. The city police had found that the lawyer had issued contradictory statements regarding the source of the money found. Siddharth, according to the police, had initially claimed that he was taking the money to register a site. The case was then handed over to City Crime Branch (CCB).

Contradictory claims

Speaking to TNIE, a CCB official, on the condition of anonymity, said that contradictory to his initial claims regarding the money, the accused had submitted in court that the money found in the car was fees collected for various cases being represented by him.

“One of the major shortcoming in the case was that the mobile phone being used by the accused in the case, which contained crucial information regarding the money, was lost by Vidhana Soudha police that first investigated the issue,” the official said. However, the official was confident that the case would be pursued by the police to a logical end and the stay will get vacated when it comes up for hearing on January 23.

According to police sources, the trial court had ordered a stay in the case in 2017 after the accused had challenged the FIR and furnished details on the source of money found in his car. Moreover, loss of key evidence in connection with the case, sources add, have made it difficult for the police to ascertain the source of money and who it was meant for.

There are also rumours that the case was being buried as the money seized was meant for a prominent political leader of the State, the sources added.