Former Windsor detective Narinder Sahota cleared of fraud charges

Former detective at Windsor Police Station, Narinder Sahota, has been cleared of 17 counts of fraud after the judge dismissed the case mid-way through his trial.

Charges against the retired Detective Sergeant, 50, who was based at the Alma Road station, were thrown out at Kingston Crown Court on Monday.

Judge Judith Coello directed a jury to find him not guilty after the indictment was changed by prosecutors half-way through the trial.

She ruled there was not enough evidence for the Crown to prosecute.

The trial had been running for nearly a month.

Sahota had denied nine counts of obtaining a mortgage by deception, five counts of defrauding Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and three counts of perjury.

After his arrest in January 2012, Mr Sahota, who lived in the Slough area, was suspended from his policing duties by Thames Valley Police until the outcome of the court case.

But he took early retirement from the force just before he was set to have a disciplinary hearing with police chiefs and went on to work for a family-owned company.

His wife Rajinder Sahota, 51, who also stood trial at the same time, also had seven charges against her dismissed on the same direction by the judge.

She had denied four counts of obtaining a mortgage by deception and three counts of defrauding HMRC.

Speaking yesterday a police spokesman said Judge Coello dismissed the case as the indictment was changed as prosecutors had not prepared their argument.

The spokesman added: "The case will not be followed up by prosecutors and there are no plans to pursue it in the future."