HC stays probe against Punjab DGP Chattopadhyaya

IN HIS PLEA, DGP (HRD) BLAMES DGP SURESH ARORA, DGP (INTEL) DINKAR GUPTA AND IG (CRIME) LK YADAV FOR DRAGGING HIS NAME INTO SUICIDE CASE

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday stayed investigation against Punjab director general of police (human resource development) Siddharth Chattopadhyaya into the suicide case of Inderpreet Chadha, son of former Chief Khalsa Diwan president Charanjit Singh Chadha. The special investigation team (SIT) under inspector general (IG crime) LK Yadav is conducting the probe.

The HC bench of justice Surya Kant acted on Chattopadhyaya’s plea in which he has blamed three top officers — DGP Suresh Arora, DGP (intelligence) Dinkar Gupta and Yadav — for dragging his name into the suicide case.

Inderpreet committed suicide on January 3 after his father got embroiled in a video scandal. The SIT had sent two questionnaires to Chattopadhyaya on his role in the case. The HC summoned record of the Chadha suicide case by April 23 and asked advocate general Atul Nanda to seek instructions on the controversy, besides restraining the SIT to proceed in the FIR against Chattopadhyaya. The court said the investigation may continue against other suspects. Chattopadhyaya has sought a probe by the CBI.

The HC had appointed Chattopadhyaya to probe the role of Moga SSP Raj Jit Singh in a drug case and to investigate the complicity between officials with drug traffickers in 2017. The DGP (HRD) submitted two reports on February 1 and March 15 in the HC. Chattopadhyaya alleged he was being falsely implicated by the SIT under Yadav at the behest of senior officers whose role was under scanner for being closely associated with the Moga SSP.

Chattopadhyaya alleged that Arora and Gupta’s role came to light during the drug case probe. DGP (HRD) claimed he was also conducting an investigation into a benami property allegedly acquired by a DGP. Both Arora and Gupta are supervisory officers and career progression of SIT members is in their hands, he told the court. “The FIR is just a ruse to pressurise me and to change the course of investigation,” Chattopadhyaya claimed, adding that it all started after he submitted his first report in the drug case before the high court.

He claimed their idea was to embarrass him and second questionnaire in the Inderpreet suicide case does not have any relevance to it. The court was told that Chattopadhyaya’s name neither figures in the suicide note nor in the FIR. Inderpreet had commented against Chattopadhyaya in his diary as he was a member of the NRI commission which dealt with a dispute between a woman and Inderpreet. He said an adverse order was passed by the commission against Inderpreet after the DGP (HRD) had left the commission in 2016. This, as per Chattopadhyaya, was the basis for the SIT to issue him questionnaires.