Punjab Vigilance Bureau arrest SHO, ASI for Rs 1.50 lakh bribe demand

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB), during its ongoing anti-corruption campaign, has arrested Sub-Inspector (SI) Raman Kumar, Station House Officer (SHO) of Police Station Bulowal in Hoshiarpur district, along with his subordinate, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Gurdeep Singh, on Sunday for demanding a bribe of Rs 1,50,000.

An official spokesperson of the VB disclosed today that the arrests followed an inquiry into an online complaint filed by a resident of Asalpur village in Hoshiarpur district on the Chief Minister’s Anti-Corruption Action Line.

The complainant alleged that an FIR had been registered at the police station against his nephew under the NDPS Act, and the accused police personnel were threatening to implicate his son under Section 29 of the same Act.

According to the complaint, the ASI initially demanded Rs 1,50,000 on behalf of the SHO to spare his son from the case, but after negotiations, the amount was reduced to Rs 1 lakh. The complainant recorded conversations between himself and the accused policemen, capturing their bribery demands, and submitted the audio evidence to the VB.

The spokesperson further said that after verifying the complaint by the VB Hoshiarpur unit and obtaining legal advice, a case had been registered against both officers under Sections 7 and 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Section 61(2) of the BNS, and Section 59 of the NDPS Act at the VB Police Station in Jalandhar Range.