Haryana Khadi Board Ex-Employee Naresh Kadyan booked by Delhi Police

Accused Naresh Kadyan, masquerading as an RTI activist and a social worker to file frivolous complaints and harass government officials, has been booked by Delhi Police under section 182 of IPC for giving false information in a criminal complaint lodged by him at the IP Estate police station in Delhi. Delhi Police which filed its report in a court here said Kadyan has been accused of “deliberately and intentionally” concealing the fact that KVIC was not dealing in any such contraband item, which was already in his knowledge.

A former disgruntled employee of Khadi Board, Haryana, has landed in the Delhi Police net for allegedly filing a ‘false’ criminal complaint with a “mala fide” intention to defame Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) by accusing the Gandhian institution of dealing with prohibited items - ivory and whale bone. Accused Naresh Kadyan, masquerading as an RTI activist and a social worker to file frivolous complaints and harass government officials, has been booked by Delhi Police under section 182 of IPC for giving false information in a criminal complaint lodged by him at the IP Estate police station in Delhi.

Delhi Police which filed its report in a court here said Kadyan has been accused of “deliberately and intentionally” concealing the fact that KVIC was not dealing in any such contraband item, which was already in his knowledge. It said KVIC had clarified its position in response to Kadyan’s RTI queries in January 2020, but this fact was concealed by him in the police complaint in an apparent bid to mislead the investigation. After investigation, the police told the court that “KVIC was not trading nor was in possession of contraband items like ivory or whale bone as alleged by the complainant”. Police filed the probe report before Metropolitan Magistrate Rishabh Kapoor and asserted that criminal proceedings need to be initiated against Kadyan under section 182 of the IPC which deals with giving false information in the complaint with intent to cause a public servant to use his lawful power to the injury of another person. Section 182 of IPC prescribes for punishment with six months imprisonment or fine or with both. “Therefore, suitable action as deemed fit may be taken against the complainant Kadyan so that recurrences of such false complaints are avoided in future,” the police said, adding that “from the inquiry conducted so far it has been revealed that the complainant (Kadyan) had a long association with Khadi board, Haryana, and his relation with board officials had never been cordial”. The report said the accusations of the complainant are “baseless”, without any proof and are “merely a figment of his imagination” with the intention to malign the image and reputation of KVIC. The police also told the metropolitan magistrate that a search was conducted at the KVIC office at Rajghat but no stock of ivory or whale bone was found.

The KVIC, on the other hand, maintained that Kadyan had a chequered history and he was embroiled in one or the other controversy since his appointment. He secured a job in Khadi Board, Haryana in 1984 allegedly on a fake educational degree and was terminated in the year 1986. However, he was reinstated following the order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Ever since, a number of charges cropped up against him that included violation of service rules, insubordination and serious charges of financial irregularity and resorting to physical violence and intoxication while on duty, police was told by the KVIC. He was, accordingly, charge-sheeted for various violations and charges were proved against him and Haryana Khadi Board began deliberating upon the quantum of punishment against Kadyan and fixed the matter for August 6, 2014. However, sensing a strict punishment, Kadyan just a day before the meeting on August 5, 2014, requested for voluntary retirement, which the Board accepted and relieved him with immediate effect, police noted in its report. “Since by filing a false complaint with mala fide intention and deliberately concealing the vital information in the complaint, the complainant has misled the police and is misusing the process of law to defame KVIC, appropriate process may be initiated against him,” police told the court..