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Vigilance busts bribery racket targeting truckers, 1 arrested

Gunman with Bathinda RTO held for taking ‘protection money’
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The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has arrested a gunman attached with the Bathinda Regional Transport Office (RTO) for allegedly collecting monthly bribes amounting to lakhs from transporters as “protection money”, a spokesperson said on Saturday.

The Bureau spokesperson said the arrest was made based on an online complaint submitted by Dharam Singh, a transporter from Lehra Dhurkot village near Rampura in Bathinda.

The complaint was made on the Punjab Chief Minister’s Anti-Corruption Action Line.

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The official said the complainant alleged that his trucks and tippers were being challaned by the Assistant Transport Officer (ATO) while gunman Sukhpreet Singh and Jaggi Singh, a “private individual” from Bathinda’s Maur, were demanding Rs 1,800 per truck as monthly “protection money”.

He alleged that the money was being demanded on behalf of Bathinda Assistant Transport Officer of Ankit Kumar and others in lieu of letting his vehicles run without any penalty.

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The complainant alleged that the ATO challaned his stationary vehicles, and under pressure, he paid Rs 15,000 through an online mobile payment service on the contact number provided by Guranjit Singh, another gunman of the ATO.

The complainant had recorded conversations with the accused, which were submitted to the Bureau as evidence.

During the probe, the allegations were verified as the accused were “found to be soliciting bribes in exchange for allowing the complainant’s transport vehicles to operate without interference”, the spokesperson said.

Based on the complainant’s statement and the audio evidence, an FIR has been registered against Constable Sukhpreet Singh and Jaggi Singh at the VB Police Station, Flying Squad-1, Punjab, in Mohali.

Upon confrontation by the Bureau’s flying squad team, Constable Sukhpreet Singh admitted to have accepted bribes from transporters.

He revealed that approximately Rs 20-25 lakh was being collected monthly from transporters, facilitated by private individuals and accomplices, the spokesperson said.

Sukhpreet Singh disclosed that private individuals, including Jaggi Singh and some smaller transporters, were being used to collect the bribes.

He also revealed that Guranjit Singh was collecting Rs 8 to Rs 10 lakh monthly from transporters while he himself was collecting Rs 7-8 lakhs from the remaining transporters.

The spokesperson added that the role of the ATO, his gunman Guranjit Singh and other individuals is now under investigation and they have been summoned to join the probe so that they could be confronted with the evidence, including the confessions made by Sukhpreet Singh.

A Mohali court has sent him on four-day custody for further questioning.

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