CBI court sentences Chandigarh head constable to 7 years imprisonment in corruption case

A CBI court in Chandigarh has sentenced a head constable of Chandigarh Police to seven years of imprisonment in a corruption case registered eight years ago.

The CBI had registered an FIR against head constable Ram Kumar on May 23, 2017, based on a complaint filed by two women, Satya Tiwari and Anita, residents of Sarangpur village in Chandigarh. The complaint was related to a dispute over the custody of a child belonging to late Babu Singh, Anita’s brother.

According to the complaint, an FIR had been registered against Shivnath Singh, Anita’s husband, on February 17, 2017, at Sarangpur police station. Since then, the complainants alleged that they were being harassed by the police staff posted there.

On May 19, 2017, three policemen, including Ram Kumar, allegedly took away Shivnath Singh and demanded a bribe of Rs 30,000, threatening to falsely put Anita and her sister Arti behind bars if the bribe was not paid. They were also asked to appear in the police station that same day.

Refusing to give in to the demand, Anita and Satya Tiwari submitted a written complaint with the Superintendent of Police, CBI, Chandigarh.

On May 23, 2017, the CBI laid a trap and caught Ram Kumar red-handed while accepting the Rs 10,000 bribe from the complainant at the complainant’s house. The operation was conducted in the presence of independent witnesses.

After completing the investigation, a challan against the accused was presented before the court. Finding sufficient evidence on record, the CBI filed a chargesheet against the accused.

The counsel of the accused argued that Ram Kumar had been falsely implicated in the case, while public prosecutor Narender Singh said that the prosecution has proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt. After hearing both sides, the court sentenced Ram Kumar to seven years of imprisonment.