Day after 4 cops held for bribery, Fazilka SSP suspended

A day after the Punjab Vigilance Bureau arrested four policemen in Fazilka for taking a bribe from a minor boy over videos in his phone, the state government on Wednesday suspended Fazilka SSP Varinder Brar in connection with the case.

A spokesperson said following an investigation into corruption allegations linked to the bribery case involving four police officers, action was taken against the senior officer. However, police sources claimed that the suspended officer had maintained a clean record until now.

Finance Minister Harpal Cheema had announced the arrest of the four policemen on Tuesday, reiterating the government's zero-tolerance policy toward corruption. The scandal emerged after a Fazilka resident submitted evidence to CM Bhagwant Mann through the anti-corruption helpline, alleging that officials from the Cyber Crime police station in Fazilka had demanded Rs 1 lakh to settle a complaint involving the confiscation of the minor's phone.

Despite the family's repeated efforts to resolve the matter legally, they were pressured into paying the bribe. The arrested officials were Inspector Manjeet Singh (SHO, Cyber Crime), senior constable Rajpal (reader to SHO), head constable Shinder Pal and Constable Sumeet Kumar.