BOI’S SANGRUR SP ON RUN AFTER BEING BOOKED FOR GRAFT
Officer’s aide, an ASI, who allegedly collected ₹3 lakh bribe on his behalf, has been arrested
A Punjab Police superintendent of police (SP) is on the run after his aide was arrested on charges of accepting a ₹3 lakh bribe in a case handled by the officer, people aware of the matter said on Tuesday.
Karanveer Singh is the 2012 batch Punjab Police Service officer and posted in Sangrur district’s Bureau of Investigation (BOI), a separate wing created to investigate crimes. Sangrur is the home district of chief minister Bhagwant Mann who has been asking people to come forward to file corruption complaints and promised stringent action against the guilty. An FIR was registered against Karanveer and his reader Davinder Singh under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
SANGRUR: A Punjab Police superintendent of police (SP) is on the run after his aide was arrested on charges of accepting a ₹3 lakh bribe in a case handled by the officer, people aware of the matter said on Tuesday.
Karanveer Singh is the 2012 batch Punjab Police Service officer and posted in Sangrur district’s Bureau of Investigation (BOI), a separate wing created to investigate crimes. Sangrur is the home district of chief minister Bhagwant Mann who has been asking people to come forward to file corruption complaints and promised stringent action against the guilty.
An FIR was registered against Karanveer and his reader Davinder Singh under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act at the Sangrur city police station around 11pm on Monday. Davinder was arrested immediately after registration of the FIR.
Karanveer was booked after a special investigation team (SIT) found that the SP had given a clean chit to the accused persons booked and arrested for setting a woman afire in a domestic violence case.
The woman died due to burn injuries on April 8
An assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Davinder Singh, reader to the SP had allegedly taken a bribe of Rs ₹3 lakh for helping those accused. The FIR was cancelled after the SP had given a clean chit to them in his report, said a senior police official.
On February 27, a case of attempt to murder was registered against Gurmej Singh (husband), Balwinder Kaur (mother-in-law), Bupinder Singh (marriage broker) and Komaljeet Kaur and Shaminder Kuar (both sister-in-laws) on at Khanauri police station for setting 33-year-old Parmjit Kaur on fire. Gurmej and Balwinder Kaur were arrested in the case, said the police.
However, based on the SP’S report, the FIR was cancelled on March 31. Two days after the cancellation of the report, Hasandeep Singh and Karnail Singh, relative of the accused, had given Rs ₹3 lakh to the ASI for helping them and on April 4, the accused were released from jail, according to the report of the SIT.
Sangrur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Mandeep Singh Sidhu said relatives of the accused stated that Karanveer on April 2 was demanding a ₹3.5 bribe. Later, Davinder settled the deal at ₹3 lakh.
The complainant paid the bribe to the ASI, who passed it to the SP in his office, said an initial probe of the SIT.
“The accused ASI has been arrested, while the SP is on the run and teams have been dispatched to arrest him,” said SSP Sidhu.
A special investigation team headed by SP (headquarters), Sangrur, has been formed to arrest Karanveer and investigate the case.