Faridkot cops in trouble for ‘freeing’ accused within 2 hours of his arrest

A move to “free” an accused within two hours of his arrest due to alleged pressure of a ruling party MLA has landed Faridkot cops in trouble.

No strong ground to detain: Police

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• Complainant Jagdev Singh had alleged that he was attacked with a sharp-edged weapon by Vipan Kumar Shukla, thus leading to amputation of his finger on May 26
• Though Shukla was nabbed on July 25, cops allegedly freed him. “As no strong ground was found to detain the accused, he was let off,” said the police

After the complainant approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court in this regard on September 10, the latter directed the Police Department to place on record the audio and video recording of the room of the Investigating Officer (an ASI) and Faridkot City SHO.

Though the police submitted the audio and video recording in the court on September 17, the high court has asked Faridkot SSP to appear personally on September 27 as the district police didn’t not offered any statement on what conspired in the room of the ASI and the SHO and why the accused was allowed to go home.

Complainant Jagdev Singh, who works as a mason, had alleged that he was attacked with a sharp-edged weapon by Vipan Kumar Shukla of Bathinda, thus leading to amputation of his finger on May 26. The police had registered an FIR against Shukla on May 29.

Though Shukla was nabbed on July 25, the police allegedly freed him within two hours of his arrest. The complainant alleged that cops freed the accused on the directions of a ruling party MLA. “As no strong ground was found to detain the accused, he was let off,” claimed the police.

Stating that investigation conducted by the police is prima-facie tainted, the high court directed the SSP on September 10 to examine the case and file the latest status report through personal affidavit.