Amritsar: DSP's kin claim he was falsely implicated in a bribery case

Tribune News Service

PK Jaiswar

Amritsar, July 28

The family members of tainted Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sushil Kumar today claimed that he was made a scapegoat in the corruption case though there was no proof against him. The police had not made any recovery from his possession either.

Sushil Kumar was arrested by the Faridkot police on July 19 on charges of corruption. Along with him, the Faridkot police had booked SP Gagnesh Kumar, SI Khem Chand Prashar, Jaswinder Singh alias Jassi Thekedar and Sant Malkeet Das. They were booked under Section 7, 7A, 8 and 13 (1) (b) of Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120-B of IPC for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 20 lakh to re-nominate the prime accused who was earlier given clean chit by a police team in the 2019 murder case of Mahant Dayal Das.

In a communique to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and DGP Punjab Police, advocate Mehar Singh, daughter of DSP Sushil Kumar, said that all the accused absconded after the registration of an FIR and were still out of the reach of the police. They have changed their numbers and locations while her father never switched off his phone. He did not miss his duty also as he was innocent and had complete trust in law and judiciary. She said the incident had left his reputation tarnished and the family traumatised.

Demanding justice, she said during judicial custody, his health condition had been deteriorating. He was suffering from acute skin psoriasis besides diabetes and hypertension. He is currently recuperating at Faridkot Medical College.

She pointed out that her father fully cooperated with the Vigilance Bureau during investigations. During his service, he received appreciation letters and certificates besides two commendation discs from the DGP for good work. He had a clean record throughout his service and was a hardworking cop. Advocate Mehar Singh pointed out that the other accused have not been arrested by the Vigilance Bureau yet.

It may be mentioned that Mahat Dayal Das was shot dead by two unidentified persons at Dera Baba Harka Das in Kotsukhia village in Kotkapura on November 7, 2019. A murder case was registered at the Kotkapura Sadar police station against two unidentified persons and Sant Jarnail Das Kapurewale besides others on the complaint of Sant Gagan Das, a disciple of Sant Baba Haridas. Later, the accused Sant Jarnail Das Kapurewale was given a clean chit by Moga Headquarters DSP Ravinder Singh.

An official spokesperson for the Vigilance Bureau said that the Punjab and Haryana High Court had summoned Faridkot Range IGP Pardeep Kumar Yadav to file an affidavit in the case.

Thereafter, the IGP had constituted a special investigation team (SIT) headed by Faridkot SP (D) Gagnesh Kumar. The team included Faridkot DSP Sushil Kumar, Baghapurana DSP Jasjot Singh and SI Khem Chand.

He said in November 2022, SP Gagnesh Kumar, DSP Sushil Kumar and SI Khem Chand had demanded Rs 50 lakh as bribe from Sant Gagan Das to re-nominate and arrest Sant Jarnail Das Kapurewale and to help him (Gagan Das) in the case.

The deal was settled at Rs 35 lakh and the said officers had already taken Rs 20 lakh in two installments of Rs 15 lakh and Rs 5 lakh on November 9 and November 22 last year.

The spokesperson said following the investigation, the police teams from Vigilance Bureau, Ferozepur Range had arrested DSP Sushil Kumar, who is presently posted at 3 IRB (India Reserve Battalion), Ludhiana. The accused DSP will be produced before the court on Thursday, he added.

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