ASI, two other cops booked for framing villager in drug case

Kulwinder Sandhu

Tribune News Service

Moga, December 23

The police today registered a case against Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Pahara Singh and Head Constables Gulab Singh and Harbhajan Singh for allegedly framing Joginder Singh of Sangatpura village in a drug case.

A senior official of the local police said the cops had been booked under Section 58 of the NDPS Act and Sections 193 and 195 of the IPC at Baghapurana police station. They are yet to be arrested. Also, no departmental action has been taken against them so far.

The victim’s relative, Baldev Kaur, filed a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the Moga police, alleging that Joginder was falsely implicated in a drug case on January 3, 2015, by the trio at the behest of local Akali leaders.

The HC referred the writ petition to the Justice Mehtab Singh Gill Commission, constituted by the Punjab Government to look into cases of political vendetta registered during the 10-year rule of the SAD-BJP alliance.

The Gill Commission, after conducting an inquiry, directed the police to book the cops for framing Joginder.

In April, the police had booked ASI Pahara Singh for allegedly “using criminal force and assaulting a woman with the intention of compelling her to remove clothes”. His wife, Sarabjit Kaur, and son Moni had been made co-accused in the case.

22 peddlers arrested

Moga: The district police arrested 22 drug peddlers, including two women, during the past 24 hours. About 20 kg of poppy husk was recovered from Balwinder Singh, a resident of Dagru village, and 

5-gm heroin from Ravinder Singh of Dhalleke village. A total of 440 intoxicating pills were seized from Jeet Kaur and Malkit Kaur of Daulewala village. Separate cases were registered under the NDPS Act. TNS