An assistant sub-inspector of police and a civilian were arrested on Tuesday on charges of accepting a bribe worth Rs 21 lakh to let off a drug smuggler arrested in a Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) case from March this year, officials said. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rajpal Singh Sandhu confirmed the arrest of an ASI and a middleman. Another ASI has been booked. SSP Sandhu said he received a phone call from the Jalandhar Rural SSP Mukhvinder Singh on Monday regarding corruption charges against the two ASIs and the middleman who were accused of letting off an arrested drug smuggler.
The SSP identified the accused as Kapurthala Kotwali SHO Harjit Singh and station in-charge of the Subhanpur police station ASI Paramjit Singh. Mediator Onkar Singh (the brother of Boot sarpanch Rajpal) was also named.
Both Paramjit and Onkar were arrested by Kapurthala police on Tuesday while SHO Harjit Singh is evading arrest. A formal complaint was made by SSP Rural, Jalandhar, Mukhvinder Singh to DIG Range Jalandhar and to the SSP Kapurthala, after which an FIR was registered on the evening of 19 June.
The case came to the fore after an investigation into an NDPS Act case at Nakodar in Jalandhar revealed a key accused had gotten away just months ago after heavily bribing Kapurthala cops. Gujral Singh, alias Joga, a resident of Boot village in Kapurthala, was caught with six kg heroin and Rs 3,000 in drug money in June and a case was registered at the Nakodar Sadar police station on 12 June. Investigations led to Amandeep Singh Amna, a resident of Thatha village in Tarn Taran, and Joginder Singh alias Bhai (the father of accused Gujral) who were also nominated and produced on a warrant. Gujral and Joginder told Jalandhar rural police that on 12 March, Gujral had been arrested by Badhshahpur police station in Kapurthala where SI/SHO police station Kotwali Harjit Singh was present.
At the time, Gujral was also wanted in a previous NDPS case. Gujral’s wife Jagjit Kaur Medi Grewal struck a deal of Rs 21 lakh with station in charge Paramjit Singh and SHO Harjit Singh to free her husband. The SHO (Kotwali) accepted a bribe worth Rs 1 lakh from Gujral’s wife at the station. The next day, SHO Harjit and station in-charge Paramjit accepted an additional bribe of Rs 19 lakh from Joginder Singh, father of accused Gujral at Badhshapur police station in the presence of mediator Onkar Singh alias Kari. Paramjit accepted an additional Rs 1 lakh after which accused Gujral was handed over to his father Joginder and Onkar. SSP Mukhvinder Singh said, “During the investigation in the Nakodar drugs case the whole family was found to be in the drugs business. During our probe, Joginder, Gujral’s father, told us he had got his son freed by paying Rs 21 lakh. I have also written to the DIG…Strict action should be taken against the culprits.”
Acting on the information given by SSP Singh, SSP Sandhu said he deputed a senior police officer and based on the officer’s findings, registered a corruption case against them. During preliminary interrogation, the smuggler confessed that a Kapurthala police officer accepted a bribe of Rs 21 lakh from him in connection with the NDPS case registered last year.
