ASI booked for extorting Rs 11.5 lakh using threat of false criminal charges

Police have registered a criminal case against Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Gurmej Singh Sandhu, posted at the Bajakhana police station, for allegedly extorting Rs 11.5 lakh from the father of an NRI woman.

The case, registered after an inquiry by a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and a complaint by the victim, Sukhdev Singh of Gurusar village, involves charges of extortion by putting a person in fear of injury.

According to the complaint, ASI Sandhu allegedly coerced Sukhdev Singh into paying Rs 11.5 lakh in April 2024, just days after Singh’s daughter, Jashandeep Kaur, filed for divorce in Canada. It is further alleged that the ASI also took several blank, signed bank cheques and a blank signed stamp paper from the complainant.

The extortion is said to have stemmed from a matrimonial dispute involving Jashandeep Kaur and her husband Satnam Singh, a resident of Devi Wala village. The two were married in November 2019, and Kaur moved to Canada shortly after. Satnam joined her there in June 2022. However, in March 2024, Kaur filed for divorce, alleging her husband was a drug addict.

Following the divorce petition, Satnam Singh’s family allegedly approached ASI Gurmej Singh Sandhu to pressure the woman’s family. The ASI is accused of threatening Sukhdev Singh with false criminal charges to force a monetary settlement.