Missing Bulgarian petitioner in Cadila Pharma MD Rajiv Modi case shows up in HC

Updated on Feb 27, at 1.48 p.m.

In a plot twist, the petitioner Bulgarian woman suddenly appeared in court challenging the ‘A’ summary report based on which alleged sexual harasser Modi was given a clean chit.

Days after Cadila MD Rajiv Modi was cleared of charges against him, the petitioner Bulgarian woman, who had been missing for 34 days, appeared in the Gujarat High Court on Feb 27.

The Bulgarian woman accused that she was attacked and filed a complaint about it. She also said that she went to the US for justice because her family and she were threatened when she was in the city.

She emphasised that the police only summoned her once, not eight times, to fill out her statement. She went to file her statement two times, and the police officials were busy  with other duties on both the occasions.

Despite the names of the assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Himali Joshi, Cadila legal department and the employee board mentioned in the complaint, the police only booked Modi and the others.

The Bulgarian woman claimed that statements by witnesses were not taken fairly, and they were also posed with life threats. 

Her lawyer said that her statement was filed under Section 164 (which authorises the magistrate to record the statement of a person or her confession, no matter whether he possesses jurisdiction in the case).

Challenging the ‘A’ summary report, the petitioner council will resume the case in court.

The case took ample twists and turns before it ended on Feb 22 with an ‘A summary’ report filed by the special investigation team (SIT).

An ‘A summary’ report can mean that not enough evidence to charge someone is there, so they explain why.

In this case, the allegations were not proven as the Bulgarian woman did not show up after the court summons for a statement.

After Modi was directed to be booked by the Gujarat High Court on Dec 31, 2023, under sections 376, 354, 504, and 506 of the IPC, which include charges of rape, extortion, and threats, the petitioner Bulgarian woman went dramatically missing.

GS Malik, Ahmedabad police commissioner, said that the petitioner had returned to her hometown, Bulgaria.

Around 60 statements have been taken till now in the case, except for the petitioner’s.

Recently, Modi, who had been evading police for months, showed up at Sola police station to file a statement. Chirag Koradia, JCP (Sector I) of city police, who is heading the SIT formed for the probe, filed the statement of Modi, which continued for five hours. 

In the interrogation, Modi was reportedly asked around 100 questions.

Notably, a case was registered in Sola police station after a Bulgarian woman submitted a writ petition in Gujarat HC, as her complaint was not registered at Vastrapur police station.

According to sources, the allegations of the complaint are not proven in the entire investigation. So, a ‘C summary’ report regarding the complainant filing a false complaint will also be filed in the Gujarat High Court.

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