The Pauri Chief Judicial Magistrate rejected the bail application of Municipal Council chairman Yashpal Benam and two others in a case registered under sections 353 and 504 of Indian Penal Code on Thursday. The three accused— Yashpal Benam, Sarita Negi and Ashok Bisht had presented themselves in the court on receiving summons on Wednesday. The CJM had sent the trio to jail on Wednesday setting hearing on their bail application on Thursday.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Pauri Kotwali police had submitted a charge sheet against three persons including Benam under sections 353 and 504 of Indian Penal Code. The trio is accused of assault/criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty and intentional insult, abuse and threatening with an intent to provoke breach of peace. The police had lodged the case based on the report filed by the district excise officer Prabha Shanker Mishra.
It will be recalled that the report against Benam and others had been lodged on April 24 this year. However, the police registeted a case after local media persons raised the matter with Uttarakhand cabinet minister and district minister in-charge Yashpal Arya during a meeting in district headquarter Pauri on April 27. On the evening of the same day, the police had registered a case against three including Benam. The district excise officer PS Mishra stated in his report lodged with police that on the instruction of District Magistrate, he reached the chamber of district magistrate, where the visitors were involved in the discussion regarding opening of a licensed liquor shop. Mishra stated that when he was asked for the information, he replied that the licensed shop had been opened according to the prescribed norms of Supreme Court and Uttarakhand Government. Reacting to this, the Pauri municipal council chairman Yashpal Benam, Sarita Negi and Ashok Bisht allegedly started abusing the district excise officer, purportedly threatening to kill him, while shouting at him to leave Pauri. Mishra further stated in his report that the incident had taken place in presence of then district magistrate of Pauri, Chandra Shekhar Bhatt and then senior superintendent of police Mukhtar Mohsin.
Ater assuming charge as senior superintendent of police, Jagat Ram Joshi asked the investigating officer to speed up the investigation in this case and finally the charge sheet against the three persons including Benam had been submitted in the CJM court on June 15. Now after the rejection of bail application, Benam and the two other accused persons will be in judicial custody in Pauri Jail. The Pauri Kotwali station house officer Pramod Uniyal confirmed that the CJM court had rejected the bail applications of the three accused including Benam.