Sangrur inspector suspended for using ‘fake number’ car
‘TWO CARS, ONE NUMBER’ The matter came to light when lawyer Mohammad Farooq noticed a car in court complex bearing his car’s registration number
SANGRUR:A day after high drama was witnessed at the Malerkotla court complex over two vehicles having the same registration number, the Sangrur senior superintendent of police (SSP) on Tuesday suspended a Punjab police inspector for allegedly using a car with fake number plate.
Also, a departmental inquiry has been ordered against inspector Harwinder Singh Khaira, who is posted in the Sangrur police lines.
“He allegedly used an unclaimed vehicle, a Maruti Swift Dzire, with a fake number (PB13 AA 7702). He has been suspended with immediate effect and the SP (investigation) will head the departmental inquiry against him,” said senior superintendent of police Mandeep Singh Sidhu.
The incident took place on Monday when a lawyer, Mohammad Farooq, who has PB13 AA 7702 number on his car, noticed the Maruti Swift Dzire inspector Khaira had parked in the court complex.
He called his senior colleagues and informed the police who searched the car and recovered some documents and a weapon. The police, however, did not act against the inspector. Khaira had come to the court for a hearing.
Farooq then wrote to director general of police (DGP) Suresh Arora and the Sangrur SSP through an email seeking action against Khaira.
SSP Sidhu said Khaira in his statement told the police that he found the car abandoned on his way to the Malerkotla court from Patiala.
“He admitted that he should have brought the car directly to the police station but he used it for his convenience,” he said.
“Had he committed a crime using the car with this number, I may have to face police cases. When cops do such things, how can we expect justice from them? I request the senior police officers to take disciplinary action against those responsible,” Farooq told HT.
“It is a common practice that cops use stolen vehicles. Vehicles are even used for drug smuggling with the support of some police officers. There is a nexus with drug smugglers and the police in the state,” Dirba AAP MLA Harpal Singh Cheema, also a lawyer.