Punjab cops who helped dismissed Inspector Inderjit Singh still to be named

Jupinderjit Singh

Chandigarh, April 25

Despite many claims, no one is inquiring into the role of police officials, other than dismissed Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Raj Jit Singh, for allegedly helping the dismissed Inspector Inderjit Singh in getting out-of-turn promotions, commendation certificates and relief in departmental inquiries in his 21 years of service.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had on April 15 tasked DGP Gaurav Yadav with a four-point investigation on the police-drug mafia nexus after the Inderjit-Raj Jit complicity came to the fore.

The first of the four points was to name Raj Jit as co-accused in the June 2017 FIR against Inderjit. This was promptly done with Raj Jit being named in the FIR.

The second was to depute a senior officer and examine within a month the role of all police officers concerned, however, highly placed he may be, who have directly or indirectly helped drug traffickers. Gaurav Yadav appointed ADGP RK Jaiswal as the investigating officer.

The third point of the CM’s directions said, “It is not possible for a low-rank Inspector to run such a huge network of extortion and drug trafficking alone. Action should be taken against the senior officers, who approved transfers/promotions/grant of local rank to Inderjit Singh on the recommendations of Raj Jit Singh.”

IG, Headquarters, Dr Sukhchain Singh submitted a report on this point. He reported that former DGP Sumedh Saini had approved, verbally, then Hoshiarpur SSP Raj Jit’s request to transfer Inspector Inderjit Singh from Tarn Taran to Hoshiarpur on August 12, 2014.

The IG also submits in the report that then DGP Saini had also approved Inderjit’s out-of-turn promotion from Head Constable to ASI on the recommendation of Raj Jit Singh on July 7, 2014 (a month earlier), when Raj Jit was posted as SSP, Tarn Taran.

The fourth point of investigation sought by the CM said, “Please report whether any other SSP/IPS officer had requested for posting of Inderjit with him. IG Sukhchain, deputed to reply on this also, submitted a NIL report saying, “As per office record, no officer other than Raj Jit Singh had requested for posting of Inderjit with him.

As the third and fourth point of investigation asks only about Raj Jit’s recommendations, the DGP office has not looked into the role of other officers.

But the details of the officers, who gave him rewards or helped in inquiries, are not coming up in any investigation. Gaurav Yadav and Sukhchain Singh, when asked by The Tribune, said they had submitted their reports strictly as per the queries put to the them by the Home Department, which asked them only about the recommendations by Raj Jit.

The ball is now in the court of CM Bhagwant Mann on whether he widens the investigation to inquire into all service record of Inderjit or limits the investigation as per the reports submitted so far.

Ball in CM’s court

• Inderjit Singh had joined the police service in 1986 as a constable
• He received 77 commendation certificates and a gallantry medal
• As many as 14 departmental inquiries were ordered against him
• He had been censured five times and one year of approved service had also been forfeited
• But the details of the officers, who gave him rewards or helped in inquiries, are not coming up in any investigation
• The ball is now in the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s court