GURMEET SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner seeks grant of regular bail in respect of a case registered vide FIR No.123, dtd. 16/11/2017, Police Station Badhni Kalan, District Moga, under Ss. 376, 406, 420 IPC (Ss. 25/27/54/59 of the Arms Act added later on).

(2.) Briefly stated, the facts of the case as per the prosecution version are that the complainant (name not being mentioned to conceal her identity and referred to as 'the prosecutrix') daughter of Chand Singh, resident of Daudhar Sakri submitted a written complaint addressed to SHO, Police Station Badhni Kalan, in which she stated that in the year 2016, while she was doing work of marketing in a company at Mohali then she met Varinder Singh @ Velly, accused in January, who represented to her that he was working as an immigration agent and he would send her to Canada for Rs.15.00 lakhs; that Varinder Singh @ Velly visited her house and had a talk with her parents for sending her abroad stating that he would take all the money after grant of visa; that the bargain was struck at Rs.13,50,000.00; that the accused took original passport from the complainant; that on 10/4/2017, Varinder Singh @ Velly came to the house of the prosecutrix stating that she had been granted visa for going to Canada and since no other family member of the prosecutrix was present, the petitioner had sexual intercourse with her without her consent by giving allurement to the complainant with a visa for Canada further threatening her that in case she disclosed the incident to her family, then things would be quite bad and he would not return her passport. According to the prosecutrix, when her family members returned home in the evening, the accused asked them to give Rs.5,00,000.00; that the amount was given to him; that on 14/4/2017 Varinder Singh @ Velly sent a message to the complainant on Whatsapp that she was to fly to Canada on 17/4/2017 at 2:30 a.m. and her ticket had been booked; that on 16/4/2017, the complainant along with Varinder Singh @ Velly, his wife, his friend, parents of complainant and uncle went to Delhi Airport where Varinder Singh @ Velly told the complainant that her flight had got late and she would have to go through Chennai; that thereafter Varinder Singh @ Velly along with his friend on the pretext of Chennai brought her to Mohali through local flight, kept her in a flat, took her mobile phone, made a call to her parents to arrange remaining money of Rs.8,50,000.00 and on 3/5/2017 the petitioner again had sexual intercourse with the complainant, when she was alone in her parental house; that then he sent her outside the village in a car along with his friend while he himself remained at the house; that he received Rs.8,50,000.00 from the parents of complainant; that a sum of Rs.4,44,000.00 was deposited in the account of complainant on various dates; that Varinder Singh @ Velly withdrew that money through ATM card; that the accused allured brother of complainant, who was in Dubai to send him to Canada; that he had taken a sum of 31,14,000/- from the complainant and her brother but he neither arranged their immigration to Canada nor returned the money.

(3.) It is further the case of prosecution that the prosecutrix suffered a supplementary statement on 5/12/2017 (Annexure P-2) wherein she named four more accused as Lucky, Sarpreet Singh, Prince and Channi and stated that they were friends of Varinder and on his asking had also raped her. To the similar effect is the statement of the prosecutrix recorded in terms of Sec. 164 Cr.P.C.