rediff.com: Delhi court summons Nina Pillai: PTI

A Delhi court has directed Nina Pillai, widow of biscuit tycoon Rajan Pillai, to appear before it in person on October 9 on an Enforcement Directorate plea seeking her co-operation in probing allegations of FERA violation borne out of a criminal complaint by her regarding her husband's custodial death in July 1995.

Chief metropolitan magistrate Sangeeta Dhingra Sehgal on Friday gave the direction following allegations from ED officials that Nina was not co-operating in conducting the probe.

In its application before the CMM on September 6, the ED requested the court to direct Nina to join investigations to probe alleged FERA violations. It is not clear from the ED application as to who were the alleged FERA violators.

The agency accused her of failing to appear before it despite summons, asking her to make a statement under FERA.

At the last hearing, Nina's counsel had sought time from the court to inform his client about the ED's move. However, he told the court on Friday that he could not inform her.

The court sought Nina's presence after ED counsel Navin Matta insisted she be directed to appear before the court and then the ED application be taken up.

Nina had filed two complaints in connection with Rajan's death. In her first complaint, she had accused controversial godman Chandraswami, industrialist Nusli Wadia, Bangkok-based non-resident Indian Rakesh Saxena and Singapore businessman Frederick Ross Johnson of hatching a criminal conspiracy to kill Rajan.

In the second complaint, Nina had alleged that some Tihar jail officials were part of the conspiracy to kill Rajan.

The Delhi police crime branch is expected to file a progress report of the probe into the custodial death on November 9, the date given by the court.

Crime branch inspector V P S Rana had told the court on September 6 that the probe into allegations in Nina's second complaint against Tihar jail officials had been completed.

Rana had sought four months to complete the probe into the complaint against Chandraswami, Wadia, Saxena and Johnson. However, the court gave him time till November 9.

Following an order by the CMM on November 16, 1998 the crime branch had registered a first information report against Chandraswami, Wadia, Saxena and Johnson for their alleged role in the death.

All of them have been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 384 (extortion), 387 (putting a person under death threat) and 420 (cheating).

On January 18, 1999, the CMM ordered the crime branch to probe the wider conspiracy behind the custodial death of Rajan, as alleged by his widow.


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