Ahmedabad: A police inspector posted earlier with Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Dipak Vyas, is in the soup as a special court has issued a perjury notice to him for his alleged attempt to shield an accused by giving a false statement on oath during the trial.The case dates back to July 2008, when ACB caught assistant commissioner of land development N J Nayak allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh. Three alleged mediators — Arun Patel, Purushottam Chimnani and Vipul Patel — were also caught. The complainant was Narayani Farm Pvt Ltd MD Gopiram Gupta, from whom Nayak had demanded a bribe over the issue of his agriculturist status and regularisation of a land parcel. Vyas was the trapping officer.Nayak passed away in 2024, and the three mediators were convicted by special judge B B Jadav earlier this week. They were sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. While delivering the verdict, the court issued a notice under section 344 of CrPC to PI Vyas for giving false evidence on oath. The court said, “It appears just and proper to initiate proceedings against the trapping officer by issuing a notice under Section 344 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for allegedly giving false evidence on oath.”During the trial, when Vyas was cross-examined, the court noted that though the FSL analysis and other evidence proved that Arun Patel had accepted the bribe amount, the trapping officer gave a false statement on oath as a public servant, which directly hampers the administration of justice, and it appears that the gesture is a deliberate attempt to help the accused.On the cop’s deposition, the court said, “If individuals are allowed to place false facts on record contrary to the truth to shield offenders from criminal liability, and if such persons succeed, the general public will lose faith in the justice delivery system. That would be an unfortunate situation. Even today, ordinary citizens repose complete faith in the judicial system, and it is the sacred duty of this court to preserve and uphold that trust.” Vyas has been asked to respond on Aug 31.
