ASI takes Rs 4.7 lakh to ‘free’ peddler, booked

Sukhmeet Bhasin and Anirudh Gupta

Tribune News Service

Bathinda/Ferozepur, April 24

An ASI has been booked for letting an accused in a drugs case off the hook after allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 4.7 lakh.

The complainant, Gurpal Singh of Mallawal village, alleged that Ferozepur anti-narcotics cell incharge ASI Hardev Singh had demanded Rs 10 lakh from him by threatening to book his son Lovepreet Singh (19) in an NDPS case.

Police sources maintained that Lovepreet was involved in a case of drug peddling and was having links with peddlers in Tarn Taran.

Mukhwinder Singh Chinna, IGP, Bathinda zone, said on April 23, Gurpal Singh approached him with a complaint that on March 30, when his son was playing volley ball, policemen in civvies came in three cars and took away his son.

Gurpal Singh said they met ASI Hardev Singh and told him that their son’s career would be spoiled if he slapped a case on him. He alleged that Hardev Singh demanded Rs 10 lakh to release him. The deal was later fixed at Rs 5 lakh.

As per the complaint, Gurpal Singh handed over Rs 4.25 lakh to the ASI on April 3 and assured him to pay the remaining Rs 75,000 in a few days, but the ASI refused to budge. The complainant then gave another Rs 45,000, following which Lovepreet was released.

Gurpal Singh claimed that he took Rs 1 lakh by mortgaging his daughter’s jewellery, Rs 1.5 lakh as loan from his son-in-law, Rs 50,000 from a commission agent and Rs 1.75 lakh from a fellow villager to whom he had already pledged his land.

After a preliminarily probe into the charges, the Ferozepur SSP ordered the registration of a case against the ASI under Section 342 IPC and various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The SP (Headquarters), Ferozepur, is investigating the case.

In the dock

• Lovepreet Singh of Mallawal village was detained in an NDPS case
• ASI Hardev Singh, incharge, anti-narcotics cell, demanded Rs 10 lakh from the accused's father Gurpal Singh to release him. The deal was struck at Rs 5 lakh
• Gurpal Singh handed over Rs 4.25 lakh to the ASI on April 3 and later Rs 45,000 to secure Lovepreet's release
• After a preliminarily probe, the Ferozepur SSP ordered the registration of a case against the ASI