How an Ayurvedic doctor walked free in a Hajj volunteer scam
HYDERABAD: After years under suspicion, Ayurvedic practitioner Dr. Mirza Sanaullah Baig walked free as the Nampally court acquitted him in the Hajj volunteer job scam case. The court’s decision hinged on gaps in the prosecution’s evidence and a critical delay in filing the complaint.
According to the prosecution, Dr. Baig was accused of duping a dozen hopefuls, each paying between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 for a chance to serve as Hajj volunteers in Saudi Arabia. The complainants said he posed as a representative of the Khaja Gariban Nawaz Welfare Society, Khadim-Ul-Hujaj, and lured them with promises of positions. After collecting their money and passports over several months in early 2019, the promised opportunities never materialized.
Mohd. Arbaaz filed a complaint with the Shahalibanda police on July 13, 2019. The police registered a case under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and arrested Dr. Baig the next day. The court identified several flaws in the prosecution’s case. The receipts presented as evidence were unreliable, lacking dates and not mentioning the accused’s name or position in the welfare society. As a result, the transactions could not be conclusively linked to Dr. Baig for the period in question.
Court flags evidence gaps and witness contradictions
The three main prosecution witnesses gave inconsistent statements. In court, they specified payments of Rs 15,000, Rs 12,000, and Rs 13,000, while their original statements to the police under Section 161 Cr.P.C. only indicated amounts between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000. The court considered this discrepancy significant.
The court noted that the alleged payments occurred in January 2019, but the police complaint was not filed until July 2019, resulting in an unexplained six-month delay. The judgment stated that this delay was detrimental to the prosecution’s case.
The investigation was riddled with oversights. The officer admitted he never checked if the Khaja Gariban Nawaz Welfare Society was registered, nor did he gather proof of Dr. Baig’s employment or seize any advertisements for the volunteer drive. Crucial technical evidence, like phones or laptops, was ignored, and the contested receipts were never sent for forensic analysis.
There was a direct contradiction between the complainant’s claim of apprehending the accused and handing him over to the police, and the investigating officer’s testimony that he had made the arrest himself.
The court concluded that the prosecution failed to prove the essential element of cheating under Section 420 IPC beyond a reasonable doubt. The judgment stated that contradictory witness statements, unsupported by other evidence, could not be relied upon.
As a result, Dr. Mirza Sanaullah Baig was acquitted. The court ordered that Rs 6,900 seized from the accused be confiscated by the state after the appeal period. His bail bonds will remain in force for six months as required by the procedure.
