CHANDIGARH: What was supposed to be a routine hospital-to-jail trip allegedly turned into an unexpected hotel stop for an undertrial in the Rs 661-crore Haryana-Chandigarh fund fraud case, landing two Chandigarh Police personnel and two sons of the accused behind bars.Investigators alleged that Vikram Wadhwa, a real estate businessman lodged in Burail jail, was taken to a hospital after complaining of ill health during a court-approved medical visit.However, instead of being escorted back to prison, the police team allegedly made a detour to a hotel in Sector 17 linked to one of Wadhwa’s relatives.The arrested police personnel have been identified as sub-inspector Jagmehar and assistant sub-inspector Surinder.Wadhwa and his sons, Karan and Kunal, were also arrested. All five have been booked under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Prevention of Corruption Act. They are being questioned by Sector 17 police.According to the preliminary investigation, Wadhwa, who is in judicial custody in the high-profile fraud case, complained of ill health and was granted permission to be taken to a hospital for treatment under police escort.After the hospital visit, the escorting personnel allegedly took him to the hotel instead of returning him directly to Burail jail.Police said Wadhwa remained at the hotel for some time, where he allegedly rested and met several visitors.Acting on specific information, DSP Poonam Dilawari of Chandigarh Police, along with her team, conducted a raid at the hotel and allegedly found Wadhwa, the escorting police personnel and others present there.The team took them into custody, leading to the arrests. Wadhwa was subsequently sent back to jail, while the remaining accused were placed in police custody for questioning.Investigators are examining whether the diversion was pre-planned and whether any other police personnel or officials were involved.Police are analysing CCTV footage, visitor registers, mobile phone location data and call detail records to reconstruct the sequence of events and identify those who met Wadhwa during his stay at the hotel.The role of the escorting police personnel is under intense scrutiny, with officials reviewing duty records, movement logs and communications. Police said departmental as well as legal action would be initiated against anyone found to have violated prescribed custodial protocols.The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Wadhwa on May 29 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with its investigation into the alleged IDFC First Bank fraud case.The case pertains to the alleged embezzlement of public funds from bank accounts of the Haryana govt, Chandigarh administration and two private schools in Chandigarh and Panchkula maintained with IDFC First Bank, ED had claimed.
