Ludhiana advocate accuses STF head of assault; cop denies charge

We were told by a dhaba owner that some anti-social elements were travelling in a white i-20; on spotting the car, we rang up the police helpline, but a few minutes later, the STF in-charge came and started thrashing me, said Varun Gupta, the complainant.

A city-based advocate has accused special task force (STF) in-charge Harbans Singh of assaulting him, pointing a pistol at his forehead and threatening to implicate him in a drug peddling case near Manji Sahib gurdwara on Tuesday morning.

The advocate, identified as Varun Gupta, along with a delegation of lawyers submitted a complaint to the AIG- STF Snehdeep Sharma and DCP (headquarters) Akhil Chaudhary later in the day.

STF in-charge Harbans Singh, meanwhile, said the allegation was baseless. He said the advocate did not disclose his identity and also failed to cooperate with the police party when they were carrying out checking near Manji Sahib Gurdwara, following an input of drug peddling.

Singh, however, maintained that the matter was resolved on the spot.

Gupta, on the other hand, stated that he was thrashed by Harbans Singh.

Narrating the incident, Gupta said, “I, along with my father and driver, was returning to Ludhiana after dropping my elder brother at the Delhi Airport. We stopped at a dhaba near Manji Sahib Gurudwara to have a cup of tea. The dhaba owner told us that few anti-social elements were travelling in a white Hyundai i-20 car and were waylaying commuters on the highway. At a fuel station ahead, the same vehicle came in front of us. Following this, we stopped at a dhaba and called 112 police helpline.”