The Crime Branch CID had done nothing wrong in arresting Amway CEO and two directors, said a report by North Zone ADGP N Shanker Reddy, who was asked to look into the arrests after Union Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot publicly criticised the police action.
In his report to Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, Reddy said William Scott Pinckney and directors Sanjay Malhotra and Anshu Budhraja were arrested on May 27 based on a warrant issued by the Kalpetta Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on May 23.
There was no unwarranted haste on the Crime Branch’s part and the cops had only executed the court order, the report said.
The Home Minister confirmed to Express that the ADGP has submitted his report. “The enquiry report maintained that the arrest was legitimate,” he said. However, he added that the confusion over the arrest could be cleared only by amending the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978.
When contacted, Reddy refused to disclose more details about the report. According to sources, the ADGP has pointed out that the officials had submitted all documents before the court and acted only after getting the warrant against the accused, even though their offence was non-bailable.
The police didn’t arrest the CEO and directors when they appeared before them on May 15, almost a week before the warrant was issued.