DSP suspended after woman alleges he pushed her into drugs

Ludhianabased victim also accuses officer of raping her; Khaira, Bains had sought action against the cop

The revelations by the women have exposed the Punjab Police, who are themselves involved in this trade. How can we rely on them to save the youth of Punjab from this menace? SUKHPAL KHAIRA, AAP leader

JALANDHAR : Following the directions of chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, the Punjab Police on Thursday suspended deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Daljit Singh Dhillon, presently posted in Ferozepur, for his alleged involvement in drug smuggling.

In view of the gravity of the charges, the CM asked DGP Suresh Arora to ensure proper inquiry into the matter and stern action against the DSP, if found guilty. Anita Punj, director, Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur has been directed to conduct an inquiry into the allegation and submit the report within a week, said a police spokesperson.

“Acting on directive of @capt_amarinder, @PunjabPolice suspends DSP accused of pushing Ludhiana girl into drug abuse. Probe ordered to senior lady IPS officer into allegation, report sought in a week,” media advisor to CM Raveen Thukral tweeted.

The development came hours after a 26-year-old Ludhianabased woman levelled allegations against Dhillon citing that the latter got her hooked on to heroin and also raped her.

“Dhillon pushed me into drugs and after I got addicted to heroin, asked me to bring more girls that he could sell it to. He told me that the drugs he sold were purchased from smugglers and he sold it at ₹2,000 per 10 grams. Dhillon also offered me commission on selling drugs,” the woman alleged.

The victim, who recently got discharged after from de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment, was brought by the Ludhiana MLA and Lok Insaf Party (LIP) president Simarjit Singh Bains to address a press conference here, where leader of opposition and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira joined him. Khaira earlier visited the de-addiction centre in Kapurthala and found it locked.

THE ALLEGATION

The victim said that in 2013, her friend took her to DSP Dhillon’s house in Tarn Taran, where the latter offered her heroin for the first time. “When I got hooked to the drug, I asked for it for the second time and Dhillon asked me to come to Tarn Taran where he raped me the whole night,” she alleged.

The third time, the woman said Dhillon asked her to either pay for the drug or bring other women customers who would purchase heroin from him.

“Dhillon offered to give me commission too on the sale, after which, I referred one of my friends from Mulanpur, who made purchases from him,” she claimed.

She said that her live-in partner was also an addict and died by consuming celphos tablets after he didn’t get drugs.

“I was four months pregnant when he (her live-in partner) died and I had to abort the baby as it was stillborn,” she said.

She said that Dhillon supplied her heroin for two years (till 2015) after which, she started buying it from a local dealer in Ludhiana and in 2017, she sought treatment from Kapurthala de-addiction centre.

Meanwhile, DSP Dhillon didn’t take phone calls despite repeated attempts made by the correspondent.

ALLEGATIONS AGAINST SHO

Health minister Brahm Mohindra inaugurated the first women de-addiction centre in Kapurthala two days ago, where the woman and another patient told mediapersons that police officials were equally partaking in distribution of drugs and were responsible for their condition. The second patient had blamed a station house officer (SHO) of introducing her to drugs and making her an addict.

Khaira, besides demanding action against the accused DSP and SHO, asked the state government to inquire about the connection of top to bottom police officials with the drug mafia.

“The revelations by the women have exposed the Punjab Police, who are themselves involved in this trade. How can we rely on them to save the youth of Punjab from this menace?” he argued.

Khaira said that the state government should call a special session in Vidhan Sabha on the drug issue.

Khaira also requested the chief justice of Punjab and Haryana high court to take suo-moto cognisance of media reports.

He further demanded reconsideration of the report prepared by director general of police (DGP) Siddharth Chattopadhyay in which, he pointed out the role of two DGPs, including Suresh Arora and Dinkar Gupta, for sheltering the Moga SSP Raj Jit Singh and inspector Inderjit Singh for his alleged involvement in helping drug smugglers.

“Both the DGPs (Arora and Gupta) should morally step down from their posts after this episode as Chattopadhyay’s report is become more realistic,” he said.

Further, the victim will send a written complaint to the CM, a copy of which, was handed over to the media during the press conference.