A police inspector yesterday denied any wrongdoing in his handling of a case in which his colleagues mistakenly charged an innocent man with carrying out a hold-up.

Elton Taliana made the denial in testimony during libel proceedings he has instituted against It-Torċa, which claimed he knew about the wrongful arrest but did nothing.

“At no point during my investigation did it result there was someone innocent in prison,” Inspector Taliana said, also telling the court he thought he had arrested an accomplice.

He had investigated the incident and seen CCTV footage of a man who was evidently of a much smaller stature than the person arraigned by his colleagues.

He arraigned the right person, he said, adding that the paper’s claim was libellous.

Last August, Mr Taliana arraigned 22-year-old Roderick Grech and accused him of carrying out a hold-up at a confectionery store in Birkirkara.

However, another man, Darryl Borg, 27, had already been charged and was remanded in custody.

Mr Grech gave the police the balaclava and the toy gun he had used in the crime and pleaded guilty, for which he received a suspended jail term.

On Mr Grech’s arraignment, Inspector Taliana informed the court that, two days before, a man who had nothing to do with the crime had been charged and detained.

Mr Borg’s lawyers launched legal action and he was released.

Inspector Taliana said he had viewed the CCTV footage in the presence of colleagues from the Criminal Investigation Department.

He said he had a very high opinion of his colleagues and it never crossed his mind that they had the wrong person in custody.

“In fact I thought the person I had arraigned was an accomplice and at no point did I know that the wrong person was in prison.”

The case continues.