Punjab Vigilance Bureau gets nod to probe role of IGP in Rs 20 lakh bribery case

Balwant Garg

Faridkot, January 29

The Vigilance Bureau (VB) has got the nod from the state government to initiate probe against an IGP-rank officer for allegedly taking Rs 20 lakh bribe in a murder case.

Though the SP, DSP and SI have already been booked in this case, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked the VB to file a detailed reply by February 6.

While the DSP and the SI were nabbed by the VB, the high court had stayed the arrest of SP Gagnesh Kumar.

Seeking stay on his arrest, the SP had claimed that SI Khem Chand and other accused initially demand a bribe of Rs 50 lakh in the name of IGP who was not arraigned as an accused in this case. If the IGP was not arraigned, then there should be no question of arresting him as he was working under the supervision of the IGP, claimed the SP.

Another accused Malkeet Das, who turned approver in this case, submitted before the court that Rs 20 lakh bribe was paid to the IGP. Malkeet is a head of a gaushala where the bribe was allegedly paid.

A case against the SP, DSP, SI, Malkeet and two other persons was registered in June last year for collecting bribe to renominate the prime accused in the murder case of Dayal Das, deputy head, Harka Das Dera, at Kot Sukhia village. Dayal was killed on November 7, 2019.

Earlier, cops had named Jarnail Das, head of another dera as the prime accused. Later, the police gave him a clean chit. The state government had also directed the Chief Director, VB, to probe the role of a DIG and the DSP for giving a clean chit to Jarnail.

It’s alleged that to renominate Jarnail as an accused in the murder case, the DSP and the SP collected Rs 20 lakh bribe from the complainant at a gaushala in Faridkot.