The CBI arrests a proclaimed offender in a 2009 impersonation and cheating case linked to the Lok Sabha Secretariat after investigators tracked him down in Ludhiana, Punjab. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Jitendra Pathak on August 19 after years of efforts to locate him.
The agency said its team used field verification and technical analysis to track Pathak to Ludhiana. His arrest brings a long-running case back into focus, nearly 17 years after the CBI first registered the case.
CBI Arrests Jitendra Pathak in Old Cheating Case
The CBI registered the case on July 13, 2009, against Jitendra Pathak and another accused person. Investigators alleged that the accused cheated a private individual by promising to secure a job for him in Parliament. According to the CBI, the accused demanded Rs 50,000 from the person in connection with the promised employment. The investigation later led the agency to file a chargesheet against Pathak and another accused in December 2009.
However, Pathak did not appear before the court after investigators filed the chargesheet. The CBI continued efforts to find him, but investigators could not trace him for several years. The trial court declared Jitendra Pathak a proclaimed offender on September 28, 2016, after completing the required legal formalities.
The court’s order marked an important development in the case and meant that investigators continued looking for Pathak so they could bring him before the court. For years, however, investigators struggled to establish his whereabouts. The search eventually gained momentum when the CBI received information about his possible location.
CBI Tracks Accused to Ludhiana
The CBI carried out field verification after receiving information about Pathak’s whereabouts. The agency said its investigators established that he lived in Ludhiana, Punjab.
The team then used technical analysis and planned an operation to locate him. After confirming the available information, CBI officials moved in and arrested Pathak in Ludhiana on August 19. The arrest brings an end to the agency’s long search for Pathak, although the court will continue to deal with the legal proceedings connected to the original case.
The case dates back to 2009, while the trial court declared Pathak a proclaimed offender in 2016. His arrest now gives investigators an opportunity to take the case forward after years of uncertainty over his whereabouts.
CBI Arrests Accused After Years of Search
The CBI has also taken action in another case involving a government official. The agency recently arrested Assistant DGFT Hemlata Hedau, who works at the Joint Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in Panipat, Haryana, in an alleged bribery case.
According to the CBI, Hedau allegedly demanded Rs 30,000 from a complainant. The agency alleged that she sought the money to clear a deficiency and process an Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) authorisation file for the complainant’s client. CBI officials laid a trap on August 19 after receiving the complaint. The agency said its team caught Hedau while she allegedly demanded and accepted the Rs 30,000 bribe.
The two cases show how the CBI continues to pursue both long-pending cases and fresh allegations involving public officials.
Read more on ANI.
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