BRIBERY CHARGES: IG DHILLON FAILS TO SHOW UP, CBI TO SUMMON HIM AGAIN
CHANDIGARH : Former Ferozepur range inspector general (IG) of police Gurinder Singh Dhillon has again failed to show up before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) despite having been served summons through the Punjab director general of police (DGP) twice.
The CBI will issue summons third time asking Dhillon to join investigations in a graft case. The CBI had on August 17 arrested a conduit Ashok Goyal from Ludhiana for allegedly accepting ₹10 lakh as the second instalment of ₹22 lakh demanded in bribe allegedly on behalf of IG Dhillon in return for a clean chit to a former SP of Punjab vigilance bureau, Shiv Kumar Sharma, against whom the IG was conducting a probe. On Sunday, the state government shifted IG Dhillon as IG (human rights).
CBI officials privy to the case say the IG has gone “incommunicado” and all efforts to deliver summons have gone in vain. Punjab police officials, who don’t wanted to be named, said though summons reached IG Dhillon’s official residence in Ferozepur, they were returned since he was not present there.
IG Dhillon is yet to vacate his official residence, said a senior police official.
“He has neither joined at his new posting nor has anyone been able to contact him on his phone as per the information communicated to us. We were told that even Punjab Police has no information on his whereabouts,” said a CBI official, adding that so far, the FIR is only against Goyal and the CBI has been quizzing people in the case and asking IG Dhillon to join investigations. The police also sent summons at IG Dhillon’s Patiala residence.
The CBI is quizzing two Ludhiana-based colonisers Ayush Bhalla and Satdev who are common friends of Goyal and Dhillon. “We are trying to establish links between the trio and decode their modus operandi,” said an official, requesting anonymity.