Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The District and Sessions Court has declared Narendra Kumar Mittal, accused in the National Herald property theft case, as absconding and issued a permanent arrest warrant against him.
Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Harsha Parmar also ordered police to initiate property confiscation proceedings and submit a progress report every month.
Mittal had received land in Bhopal through a power of attorney issued by Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publisher of National Herald. However, he allegedly sold the land illegally, prompting the Bhopal Development Authority (BDA) to cancel the allotment.
A separate civil case filed by the BDA to reclaim the land is pending before the district court.
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The case dates back to 2008, when an FIR was registered at MP Nagar police station against Narendra Kumar Mittal and Harmahendra Singh Bagga. In 2010, police filed a closure report, which was challenged by complainant Mohammad Saeed. In 2014, the court reclassified the case as criminal breach of trust and issued warrants.
During the legal battle, Bagga approached the High Court for bail. In a controversial turn, the case file and police diary disappeared from Bhopal District Court. Bagga benefited from missing documents and reclassification of charges, leading to his separation from the case by the High Court.
Meanwhile, Mittal’s bail, secured by Bagga’s brother Rajesh Bagga, was cancelled by the court, resulting in fresh warrant.
Complainant’s lawyer Santosh Kumar Verma said that the court recorded head constable Mukesh’s statement before declaring Mittal as an absconder. The JMFC’s order also directed police to ensure that progress is reported monthly, with the warrant noting the requirement explicitly.
