CBI grills probe officer in graft case

Anirudh Gupta

Ferozepur, August 17

A CBI team raided the office-cum-official residence of Ferozepur Zone Inspector General (IG) Gurinder Singh Dhillon late on Thursday, even as the investigating agency arrested a Ludhiana resident for accepting bribe allegedly on the IG’s behalf. An SIT headed by Dhillon is probing the 2012 patwari frame-up case, in which ex-SSP Shiv Kumar Sharma and five other cops are the accused. The raids were conducted in Ferozepur and Patiala following Sharma’s complaint.

Sources said a four-member team swooped down on the IG’s office here and questioned him about the ongoing investigation. Based on the interrogation, the CBI laid a trap and arrested alleged middleman Ashok Goyal in Ludhiana.

In the complaint dated August 13, Sharma had accused Goyal of demanding a bribe of Rs 22 lakh on Dhillon’s behalf to settle the case. He claimed to have paid Rs 5 lakh to Goyal on August 9 at a hotel in Chandigarh.

“Searches at the middleman’s house led to the recovery of Rs 5 lakh, the first instalment of the bribe taken in Chandigarh,” the CBI said in a statement.

The CBI sleuths reached here at 7:30 pm. Accompanied by local police officials, they went to the IG’s official residence. They stayed till around 4:30 am on Friday before going back to Chandigarh. The team took away documents related to the investigation into the patwari Mohan Singh case.

Dhillon reportedly told the CBI sleuths that he had no link with the arrested person. Later, talking to mediapersons, he said attempts were being made to put him under pressure and sabotage the ongoing investigation.

Regarding the complaint lodged by Sharma with the CBI, Dhillon said the accused were trying to browbeat him since he was the SIThead.

“We will not allow the investigation, which is in a conclusive stage, to be impeded by such false allegations,” the IGsaid, adding that the SIT was conducting the probe on merit with all honesty, based on the evidence and facts that had emerged during the course of the investigation, all of which had been brought on record.

“It seems to be a last-ditch effort by the accused to save their skin,” Dhillon said.

Sources said the CBI sleuths had an audio recording in which Goyal was heard demanding bribe. “He (IG) was asked questions on the evidence against Sharma and the alleged demand of bribe by a Ludhiana-based person,” they said.

Dhillon said, “The conversation between Sharma and the arrested man is concocted. They know each other and are trying to malign my reputation. I have told the CBI officials that charges have already been framed against Sharma.”

He added that the SIT headed by him had enough evidence against all accused police officers who had framed the patwari.

Last month, the SIT had added Sections 377 (unnatural sex), 511 (attempt to commit offence punishable with life term), 193 (false evidence), 295-A (malicious acts to outrage religious feelings) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC to the FIR registered at Ferozepur under Sections 167 (public servant framing an incorrect document), 211 (false charge), 355 (assault or criminal force) and 506 (criminal intimidation) against VB officials in the 2012 frame-up case.

Last year, Mohan Singh said he had written to the Chief Minister, seeking a fresh inquiry into the case. It was subsequently marked to the Ferozepur IG through the Chief Director, Vigilance Bureau.

Meanwhile, ex-SSP Sharma appeared before the SIT for the fourth time at Sadar police station on Friday. He was interrogated for almost two hours. He alleged that the SIT officials had demanded Rs 1 crore from him to let him off, and later settled for Rs 22 lakh. “We had already paid Rs 5 lakh. The conduit (Ashok Goyal) was pressuring us to pay the rest (Rs 17 lakh),” said Sharma.

Earlier, the SIT had raided Sharma’s palatial house on the Hambran road in Ludhiana, besides his native village, Rurki in Fatehgarh Sahib district. Several documents related to his properties and bank accounts had been seized by the team.

In July 2012, an inquiry by Kahan Singh Pannu, then Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, had indicted six cops for misusing official powers to settle a score and framing a patwari. The then Jalandhar range VB SSP Surjit Singh Grewal had been indicted for his role in threatening Mohan Singh not to seek information under the RTI Act against Sharma.

Case in a nutshell

• Patwari Mohan Singh demanded Rs 20 as government fee from then SSP Shiv Kumar Sharma for mutation of land at Rurki village in Fatehgarh Sahib in name of Sharma’s son in November 2009
• Offended, SSP allegedly threatened to frame the patwari. Later, Mohan Singh was falsely implicated in a corruption case
• In July 2012, inquiry conducted by Kahan Singh Pannu, then Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, indicted six cops for misusing official powers to frame the patwari
• Then CM ordered registration of criminal case against then Moga SSP Surjit Grewal; former Ferozepur SSP Jaspal Singh; former SSP Shiv Kumar Sharma (now retired); retired SP Banarasi Dass; Inspector Isher Singh; and then VB joint director Surinderpal Singh

Patwari seeks more security

Patwari Mohan Singh said the CBI complaint was lodged to put pressure on IG Dhillon, who was conducting the probe with honesty. “Sharma and his accomplices can go to any extent to intimidate SIT officials and hamper the investigation,” he said. Demanding more security for himself, Mohan Singh said he could be Sharma’s next target.

(With inputs from Aman Sood, Patiala)