Bengaluru: The Vidhana Soudha Police on Sunday arrested Pawan Kumar Bhoot, proprietor of Police Public Press Magazine, in connection with a ₹20 lakh cheque bounce case pending since 2021. The arrest took place at the Capital Hotel, Bengaluru, where Bhoot was reportedly organizing an award function, allegedly charging participants ₹11,000 per award.
According to official sources, the case was filed on January 5, 2021, after a cheque of ₹20,00,000, issued by Bhoot, was dishonoured due to insufficient funds. Despite repeated summons, Bhoot failed to appear in court, resulting in the Hon’ble Court issuing repeated Non-Bailable Warrants (NBWs) and Proclamation notices before police finally apprehended him on Sunday.
However, serious questions have emerged regarding the delayed enforcement of these NBWs. Despite repeated separate warrants, none were executed for over three years. This prolonged inaction raises grave suspicion: was Bhoot influencing or managing police authorities, or was this a case of gross negligence and deliberate dereliction of duty on the part of law enforcement? The unexplained delay casts a shadow over the integrity of the process and calls for a thorough inquiry into possible collusion.
Following his arrest, Bhoot was produced before a magistrate and was granted conditional bail.
This is not Bhoot’s first brush with the law. In 2022, he was convicted under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act in a separate cheque bounce case filed by Dinesh Kumar D.B. The court had ordered him to pay ₹65,000—₹60,000 to the complainant and ₹5,000 to the state—with a default penalty of six months’ imprisonment. Even after three years, this amount remains unpaid.
Speaking to reporters after his latest arrest, Bhoot allegedly made a brazen remark:
“What can the court do to me? I’m not going to pay. I live in Delhi, and no law or police will arrest me there.”
Legalexperts say this case highlights not just an individual accused of repeated cheque frauds, but a systemic failure in enforcement, where warrants can be ignored for years without consequence, undermining public faith in the justice system.
