Alleges arrest meant to distract from larger State issues
PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa will on September 2 hold a second hearing into a petition filed by land grab accused Suleman Siddique Khan, challenging his “illegal detention”.
Khan’s legal representative, Advocate Sahil Sardessai, in the criminal writ petition, has 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. With the first hearing held on Monday, the High Court has scheduled the next hearing for September 2.
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.
