Blot on khaki: Three ASIs held for graft

Tribune News Service

Mohali, September 1

Three assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs) have been arrested for corruption, two of them by Vigilance sleuths.

The Mohali police arrested an ASI, posted at Zirakpur, on charges of extortion and corruption here today.

“ASI Kewal Singh, through Ram Singh, a middleman and property dealer, had extorted Rs 50,000 from the owner of a beauty parlour in Zirakpur, threatening her with false implication in a case of immoral trafficking. The allegations against the official were found true,” said Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar.

He said the police had booked the ASI and Ram Singh, a resident of Zirakpur, under Sections 354, 384, 452, 506 and 120B of the IPC and Sections 7 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act at the Zirakpur police station.

“ASI Kewal Singh has been arrested while Ram Singh is at large,” said the SSP. Raids are being conducted to arrest him. He said the ASI and Ram Singh divided the money equally.

The SSP said the victim today apprised him of the nefarious activities of the ASI. “I deputed SP (Headquarters) to probe the matter. After verifying all facts, we registered a case against the official and his accomplice,” said the SSP.

The SSP said the police had zero tolerance against corruption. “We are identifying such elements with the help of people. The doors of my office are open for all those who feel they are being harassed by policemen,” said Bhullar. Two head constables were recently arrested by the Mohali police from Kharar for corruption.

Meanwhile, leaving the Mohali police red-faced, the flying squad of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau nabbed two ASIs from police stations in Mohali district while taking a bribe from two accused today.

ASI Anoop Singh, posted at the Zirakpur police station, and ASI Rakesh Kumar, posted at the Nayagaon police station, were arrested while taking a bribe of Rs 40,000 and Rs 5,000, respectively, from two accused for allowing them join the police investigation in two separate cases.

Inspector Satwant Singh Sidhu of the Flying Squad Unit, Punjab Vigilance Bureau, Mohali, said Anoop Singh had demanded Rs 1 lakh from the complainant, Paramjit Kaur, of Panchkula, an accused in an eight-year-old case, for allowing her to join the police investigation. “He had already taken Rs 20,000 from her. He was arrested today while taking the second instalment of Rs 40,000 as bribe from her during a trap laid following her complaint,” said Sidhu, adding that the complainant had already got interim bail from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

In the second case, the flying squad arrested ASI Rakesh Kumar from the Nayagaon police station while taking Rs 5,000 as bribe from a complainant, Surinder Singh Kamboj, a resident of Jalalabad. The ASI had demanded the bribe from Surinder Singh, an accused in a cheating case, for allowing him to join the police investigation in the case. “Following a complaint from Surinder Singh, we laid a trap and caught the ASI red-handed,” said Inspector Sidhu. Surinder Singh had also got interim bail from the High Court.