Special court rejects former Central Adoption Resource Agency

CBI had found in its investigation that Preet Mandir used to maintain a credit account of their guests, including Mittal, to facilitate their stay at Hotel Aurora Towers in Pune Camp.

PUNE: The court of special judge Sudhakar Yarlagadda on Saturday rejected the discharge plea of former chairman of the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA), New Delhi, J K Mittal in a case related to the illegal adoption of children at city-based orphanage Preet Mandir CBI had filed a chargesheet against the managing trustee of Preet Mandir, Joginder Singh Bhasin, his wife Mahinder, son Gurpreet, superintendent of the Navrange Balak Ashram in Pandharpur Vasudev Gan-gadhar Darshane, social worker at Preet Mandir Chandrashekhar Admane as well as Mittal for entering into a criminal conspiracy to kidnap poor children and give them up for adoption in May 2011.

CBI had found in its investigation that Preet Mandir used to maintain a credit account of their guests, including Mittal, to facilitate their stay at Hotel Aurora Towers in Pune Camp.

Mittal's lawyer Vinod Gaur had pleaded to discharge him from the case as he was not a public servant, though he was then holding the post of the CARA chairman.

CBI special public prosecutor Manoj Chalande told the court that there is sufficient evidence against Mittal to show that he had taken undue favours from Preet Mandir to facilitate his stay in the hotel during his visit to Pune.  Chalande requested the judge to reject his discharge plea.

Yarlagadda observed that there is sufficient material to frame charges against Mittal and rejected the discharge plea.