Chandigarh, May 21

Allowing two-day police remand, a local court has rejected the plea of former journalist Sanjeev Mahajan for brain mapping, conducting a lie-detector test and narco-analysis test in the murder case of bouncer Surjit Singh. Mahajan, who was already in judicial custody in the Sector 37 property grab case, has now been arrested by the police in the bouncer’s murder case after obtaining a production warrant from the court.

The police had sought three-day remand, but the court allowed it for two days. The public prosecutor argued that the accused needed to be interrogated after the wife of deceased Surjit Singh reportedly gave a statement that Mahajan’s role could not be ruled out in the case. Surjit Singh was also one of the accused in the property grab case.

Rajesh Sharma, Mahajan’s counsel, opposed the remand, stating that Mahajan was being falsely implicated in the case. Sharma said the incident dated back to March 16, 2020, but the police were now seeking Mahajan’s custody after he was arrested in another case.

He claimed that the statement of the deceased’s wife was not obtained by the police till the time Mahajan was arrested. Sharma sought directions from the court for allowing the counsel to remain present during Mahajan’s interrogation and direction to the onvestigating officer to record the interrogation proceedings through an audio-video camera and submit a copy of the footage.

He demanded that directions should also be issued for the medical examination of the accused, to which the court agreed. The court also directed the police to let the accused meet his advocate during the interrogation. Meanwhile, the court has allowed an interim anticipatory bail to one of the accused, Daljit Singh Rubal, who is absconding, in the alleged property grab case. — TNS