Khot may be declared proclaimed absconder

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil on Tuesday ordered that former Additional Chief Secretary (Forests) Ashok Khot, be declared as a 'proclaimed absconder' if he failed to present himself before the police in New Delhi.

State Director-General of Police Dr. P S Pasricha hinted that the police, which has gone to look for him in the capital, are aware where Khot is holed up.

He commented that Khot was making a drama on the pretext of wanting to exhaust all legal options.

Dr. Pasricha pointed out that under Sec. 432, if Khot was declared a proclaimed offender, his properties could be attached. The police was bound to comply with the Supreme Court directives in this regard, he added.

Patil has issued instructions to his officers to move an application before the court seeking declaration of Khot as a proclaimed absconder.

The order for Khot's arrest was issued by the chief metropolitan magistrate on the night of May 12 itself. The former bureaucrat will have to serve the one month jail sentence from the day he is arrested.