HC orders police to file affidavit on Suleman’s illegal detention charge

PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has directed the Goa Police to file an affidavit in response to a petition by land-grab accused Suleman Siddique Khan, who has alleged that he was subjected to “illegal detention”.
During the brief hearing on Wednesday, the Bench asked the police to place their reply on record by November 26, when the matter is scheduled to be taken up next.
Khan’s legal representative, Advocate Sahil Sardessai, in the criminal writ petition filed two months back, questioned the manner in which the police arrested him, alleging that it was only meant to distract attention from other major issues in the State.
Khan, who was in police custody under the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing a large-scale land grab scam, had escaped in December 2024. He was re-arrested within two weeks in Hubli, with the SIT describing him as a “hardened criminal”.
In April this year, the High Court dismissed Khan’s plea seeking transfer of the investigation into his lock-up escape from Old Goa police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Khan had alleged that his escape was not a genuine attempt to flee but was instead staged by the police to divert public attention from the job scam. Speaking to the media during a court appearance, he had claimed the entire episode was orchestrated.
Khan had earlier suffered legal setbacks when the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Valpoi, rejected his bail plea in a 2021 land fraud case. Subsequently, the Civil Court in Bicholim declared 13 sale deeds linked to a 10,100 sq m plot in Tivim as “null and void,” in which Khan is one of the respondents.