Haryana probe team ‘indicts’ IPS officer for extortion

CHANDIGARH:In a virtual indictment of an IPS officer, OP Narwal, a Special Enquiry Team (SET) constituted by the Haryana Director General of Police has said the officer, in connivance with certain other police officials and conduits, was extorting money from different persons under the threat of false implication in a two-year-old case.

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 25

In a virtual indictment of an IPS officer, OP Narwal, a Special Enquiry Team (SET) constituted by the Haryana Director General of Police has said the officer, in connivance with certain other police officials and conduits, was extorting money from different persons under the threat of false implication in a two-year-old case.

The details surfaced before the Punjab and Haryana High Court during the hearing of a petition for anticipatory bail by one Kamal Kumar. He had moved court after an FIR was registered on September 26, 2017, at the City Police Station in Fatehabad under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and other offences.

Justice Surinder Gupta’s Bench was told that the team was constituted in May 2017 to look into a complaint by Bhupinder Singh and others regarding alleged extortion by police officials under the threat of false implication in an FIR registered on September 18, 2016, for offences punishable under the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act and Section 120-B of the IPC at Tohana City Police Station in Fatehabad district.

The Bench was told that the team — comprising IPS officers AS Dhillon and Partiksha Godara, along with HPS officer Jitender Singh — found that the investigation of the case registered in 2016 was transferred from Fatehabad to the Hisar ASP under the orders of the Hisar Range IG on September 20, 2016, “on account of serious allegations of irregularities”. The probe was, however, not transferred on instructions of OP Narwal, who was transferred from Fatehabad to the Vigilance Department in April 2017.

The Bench was told that the team, in its inquiry, found that Narwal and others were “extorting money” from different people by recording statements of the accused in the case. Narwal got their names cleared after taking hefty amount from them, it was alleged. Seeking bail, Kamal Kumar’s counsel argued that the petitioner was accused of being a conduit and paying Rs 4 lakh in bribe to Narwal. Another accused, Randhir Singh, allegedly paid Rs 15 lakh to Narwal through his son Harmandeep Singh.

Dismissing the plea, Justice Gupta asserted that the record showed that 19 accused were cleared from February 28, 2017, to April 16, 2017, on strength of an affidavit from Inspector Parveen Kumar “by giving him threat of dismissal from service”.

An attempt was also made to implicate the complainants in a false rape case. Justice Gupta added that his custodial interrogation would help police gather the required information on mode and manner of extracting money.