Bhagalpur police may take legal action against doctors

Bhagalpur: The Bhagalpur police are contemplating to take legal action against the three doctors including Dr Shashwati for cooking up her own kidnap story.

A police team would soon visit Delhi and cross-examine the two Delhi doctors--Dr Ketan Anand and Dr Manikant -- before initiating any legal action against the trio for harassing police and sensationalizing an issue that could had serious repercussions on the law & order situation.

Legal experts said repercussion of providing false information to police and administration can be severe and cases can be lodged against them under Section 182 and other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and CrPC.

Section 182 of IPC states that if a person provides false information, with an intent to cause public servant to use his lawful power to the injury of another person out of vengeance shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both, said a noted advocate.

It may be mentioned here that Shashwati alias Choti, an MD student at Belgaum in Karnataka, invited her boyfriend Dr Ketan Anand from Delhi to Bhagalpur to negotiate their marriage proposal with her parents. But the girl got cold feet as many of her relatives had come to her Adampur residence on Chhath. The two cooked up a kidnap story and a call was made to the girl’s father from her cellphone number demanding Rs 70 lakh as ransom, Bhagalpur SSP Manoj Kumar said on Monday.

Shashwati returned to Bhagalpur late Sunday night. Her father Ajay Kumar Singh had lodged a complaint with local police on November 4 that his daughter had gone missing while on way from her grandparent’s house in Lalbagh to her Adampur residence.

The SSP said Shashwati’s cellphone was put on surveillance and the police came to know about Dr Ketan. The two had reached Bhagalpur from Patna on November 3. “Shashwati went to her Adampur house and Ketan checked in Hotel Rajhans near Bhagalpur railway station. The room was booked by Ketan’s friend Dr Manikant, who also works in a Delhi hospital and belongs to Patna,” the SSP said.

“We will be cross-examining Dr Ketan and Dr Manikant also and get their statements recorded in the court before taking any legal action against them,” added the SSP saying Shashwati’s statement has been recorded under Section 164 of CrPC before a judicial magistrate.

Meanwhile, Shashwati’s family members were not available for their comments.