E-Paper
₹1-crore extortion case: Sacked SI likely to be declared PO on October 30
Posted as additional station house officer (SHO) at the Sector 39 police station before his dismissal, Phogat has been on the run since August 5, when he was booked for kidnapping a Bathinda-based businessman and extorting ₹1.01 crore from him by threatening to kill him
After local court issued non-bailable warrants (NBW) against dismissed sub-inspector (SI) Naveen Phogat for the third and final time in connection with the ₹1.01 crore extortion case from August this year, UT Police have initiated proceedings to get him declared a Proclaimed Offender (PO) in the case.
Posted as additional station house officer (SHO) at the Sector 39 police station before his dismissal, Phogat has been on the run since August 5, when he was booked for kidnapping a Bathinda-based businessman and extorting ₹1.01 crore from him by threatening to kill him. The concerned court had denied him anticipatory bail in the last week of August.
Now following the legal procedure, the court issued the third and the final NBW against Phogat earlier this month, giving him a final chance to appear before the court or to surrender.
“We have already issued Phogat the final warning giving him a chance to appear before the court or the police before conducting his proclamation proceedings. In case he does not appear before us, he will be declared a Proclaimed Offender on October 30”, a police officer said.
Apart from Phogat, the NBWs have been issued against three co-accused, including Onkar, alias Lucky, alias Grewal, and Pawan, both residents of Pathankot; and Parveen Shah, brother of slain gangster Sonu Shah.
Lucky is a close associate of Pawan and Parveen.
According to the police, once they will be declared PO’s, police will gear up to get their properties attached under Section 83 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Apart from them, two more accused, Jitender, who runs an immigration consultancy in Aerocity, Mohali, and Sarvesh of Bathinda, who is into the business of currency exchange, also continue to evade arrest.
Three other accused – two constables Shiv Kumar and Varinder, deployed at a beatbox in Sector 40, and Barjinder Singh Gill, alias Ankit – have been arrested.
Constable Shiv was deployed as the personal security officer (PSO) of Parveen.
According to police, both the constables accompanied the absconding SI when he extorted ₹1.01 crore from the victim, Sanjay Goyal.
Background
On August 4, the accused, with an aim to extort ₹1 crore, had called Bathinda-based businessman Sanjay Goyal to Chandigarh, offering to exchange ₹2,000 currency notes at a profit of 5%.
When the complainant reached Sector 40 with ₹1.01 crore on the insistence of his friend, Sarvesh, Phogat extorted the amount by faking a raid.
They threatened to kill him and implicate him in false arms and drugs cases, following which, on August 5, he had lodged a complaint at the Sector 39 police station, where SI Phogat was posted.
Phogat returned him ₹75 lakh and asked him to maintain silence, before escaping from the station. The money was later recovered.
All accused are facing a case of extortion, kidnapping, cheating, criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy.
