Punjab and Haryana High Court seeks progress report in ‘false implication’ case

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 24

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has called for progress report by a special investigation team, constituted under its orders, in a case where a widow’s Covid-infected son was allegedly implicated in a drugs case after she refused sexual favour to police officers.

Justice Arun Monga of the High Court has already rapped the Punjab Police for turning into “predators” in the case.

Taking up the matter, Justice Monga also ruled out CBI probe into the matter after expressing satisfaction with the investigation carried out so far by the SIT. “Having gone through the preliminary report of the SIT (submitted in a sealed cover), I am of the view that the investigation is being conducted satisfactorily now and would be taken to its logical conclusion in accordance with law,” Justice Monga asserted, while directing premier investigating agency’s deletion from the array of parties.

The matter was placed before Justice Monga after the women filed a petition apprehending “bodily harm” and tampering with the evidence. Justice Monga observed the allegations and factual averments in the petition were so grisly and frightful that one could only hope the same were fictitious.

He also took note of the state counsel’s submissions that it was a case of honey trap laid by the petitioner that later boomeranged, before adding if that was not the case it reflected the sordid state of affairs in the Punjab Police, particularly in the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) at Bathinda.

Justice Monga added: “The very protectors/ enforcers of law and order have turned into predators, making a young 38-year-old widow-mother victim of their lust… An FIR, allegedly a false one, was registered against her son under the NDPS Act by planting contraband on him so as to arm twist the petitioner. Eventually, under duress to get her son released, she yielded to the sexual demands of the CIA staff”.

Referring to the earlier constitution of the all-male SIT to look into the rape case registered under Section 376 of the IPC on May 12 at the Cantonment police station in Bathinda district on her complaint, Justice Monga added it was rather intriguing, given the nature of sensitive investigation, that woman police official was not involved, which otherwise also was the requirement of law.

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