Cop, two women held for duping govt officials

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar,  January 20

A district Vigilance Department team yesterday arrested a head constable, posted in Kapurthala, and two women for reportedly deceiving government officials on the pretext of involving them in an immoral act.

While briefing the media, Daljinder Singh Dhillon,  SSP, Vigilance Bureau, said the head constable, Raja Singh, in connivance with his girlfriend and another woman, used to take bribe from government officials,  who got trapped in their ‘honey traps’.

  Dhillon said a few days ago,  a government official was trapped by the suspects when he came into  contact with one of the woman, Poonam (name changed),   who had sent him a friend request on Facebook. After interacting for a while with the woman, the officer exchanged number with her and later after befriending with him,  the woman asked him to meet her at her flat in Guru Gobind Singh avenue.

As per the plan,  he went  to the decided venue to spent time with her when the other woman, Komal (name changed), who was present at the flat,  offered him tea. However, after some time, Raja entered the flat  after receiving a call from Komal and pretended as if the flat was raided to check any immoral act. Afterwards, he threatened the officer and demanded a bribe of Rs 2 lakh to settle the matter.

He ask the officer to give him the money otherwise he would book him under the the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act. Later, the official agrees to give him the money in instalments.

Afterwards, the head constable took his wallet, a cheque for Rs 1 lakh and a blank cheque on the spot from the victim and asked him to give the remaining amount in  two instalments of Rs 50,000 each.

The official was shattered after being cheated by the three suspects and decided to commit suicide. However, later he approaches the Vigilance Department and after persuading the SSP, the latter agreed to nab the accused. On January 19, officials in the department, set up a Vigilance trap for the suspects and arrest all of them red-handed from Poonam’s  flat.

Dhillon said the mastermind of the fraud incident was Raja,  who along with the two women, in a similar manner, looted several government officials.

Poonam and Komal,  who were closed friends for quite a long time, used to trap people, especially government officials, through Facebook and then used  to insist them to  meet them at private locations. The officials,  with the fear of being insulted, used to give them the amount demanded by the head constable. A case under Sections 7, 7(A)  of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120-B of the IPC has been registered against the suspects.

Modus operandi

The mastermind of the fraud incident was Raja, who along with the two women, in a similar manner, looted several government officials. Poonam and Komal, who were closed friends for quite a long time, used to trap people, especially government officials, through Facebook and then used to insist them to meet them at private locations. The officials, with the fear of being insulted, used to give them the amount demanded by the head constable.