Ghanaur SHO, head constable booked for letting off liquor smugglers in lieu of graft

PATIALA: Police have booked Ghanaur station house officer (SHO) sub-inspector Sukhwinder Singh and head constable, Balwinder Singh for letting off liquor smugglers on August 24. Ghanuar deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Jaswinder Singh is the complainant.

The matter came to light after Fatehgarh police arrested four liquor smugglers Narpinder Singh, Jagwinder Singh, of Attewali

village, and Gurpreet Singh and Abdul Rehman, both of Sirhind. They confessed to smuggling liquor from Ambala to Punjab.

According to the smugglers, head constable Balwinder and his team stopped the smugglers in Ghanaur area. Balwinder shifted 32 boxes of the liquor to his vehicle from the accused’s and also sought Rs 50,000 bribe to settle the case.

The smugglers gave Rs 9,500 to Balwinder, with a promise to pay the rest of the amount. Balwinder

has told the police that he gave this Rs 9,500 to SHO Sukhwinder.

A case has been registered under Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant), 213 (taking gift to screen an offender), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and Section 7 and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, at Ghanaur police station.

Ghanaur, along with Rajpura area of Patiala district, has become a centre for liquor smuggling in the state. In May,

Patiala Police busted an illegal liquor bottling plant in Shambu area of Ghanaur.

As per a conservative estimate by excise department officials, the accused had earned Rs 100 crore over the past five months.

Ghanaur also shares border with Ambala district in Haryana. This is also one of the reasons for liquor smuggling. The Enforcement Directorate has also begun probing the illegal liquor smuggling racket in the state.