Haryana Police on Monday failed to submit its inquiry report to lokayukta to look into the procedural lapses into the issuance of an arms licence to actor Soha Ali Khan when she was a minor.
lokayukta Justice (retd) Nawal Kishore Agarwal had in April this year directed the Gurugram Police commissioner and Armed licensing Authority, Gurugram to submit their report in the matter by July 24. However, the concerned authorities could not submit their report on Monday (July 24) following which lokayukta Justice Aggarwal has directed them to submit the inquiry report by October 12, the next date of hearing.
The lokayukta Registrar Manjit Singh, in his preliminary inquiry report submitted following a complaint by Naresh Kadyan, an animal activist had stated that “she (Soha) cheated the licensing authority and dishonestly induced it to deliver her arms licence which is a valuable security. Thus, prima facie, she committed an offence punishable under Section 420 of the IPC, stated the report.
The matter should be probed whether the Sub Divisional Magistrate who issued her licence in the first instance made any inquiry regarding her age or whether he had sufficient proof, the report said. In March last year, the complainant Naresh Kadyan had alleged that actor Soha Ali Khan got an arms licence when she was under the age of 18.
Kadyan had claimed that she obtained the arms licence on November 5, 1996 from the then Gurugram district magistrate. The licence was granted for a .20 bore gun, an NPB rifle, pistol and a .22 bore rifle, Kadyan said, adding that her father Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi was named as the retainer of the weapons.
The complainant had alleged that the retainer of the rifle misused the weapon in hunting a female black buck and an FIR was registered on June 5, 2005 under Sections 51, 39, 9 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, at Jhajjar police station. Naresh Kadyan had also stated that Soha obtained arms licence by concealing material fact of her age from the competent authority. Khan is the younger sister of Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan and daughter of former Indian cricket team captain and erstwhile royal Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and yesteryear actress Sharmila Tagore.