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Arrest rape accused by Feb 11 or remain present in court: HC to Punjab DGP, home secy
As per the latest probe report in the HC, three of his bank accounts have been frozen and approximately 4 acres of land at Bhukri Kalan village, Ludhiana, has been attached on January 28, 2025, by a court.
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The Punjab and Haryana high court has directed the director general of police (DGP), Punjab, and state’s home secretary to remain present in the court on February 11, if a Ferozepur businessman, who is accused of rape and on the run for four years, is not arrested by the police.
The businessman, Varinder Pal Singh @ VP Singh @ VP Handa was booked on October 10, 2020, at the Kulgarhi police station in Ferozepur after the intervention of the Punjab State Women Commission. He is charged under Section 376 (rape), and 67A (publishing or transmitting of material containing the sexually explicit act) of the Information Technology Act, and sections 354 (to outrage modesty), 304-A (physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures) and 506 (criminal intimidation) and various other sections of the IPC. Varinder Pal has not been arrested yet. His anticipatory bail was dismissed on October 28, 2020, by the sessions court, Ferozepur, then on November 12, 2020, by the high court and on February 5, 2021, by the Supreme Court. He was declared a proclaimed offender on March 24, 2022, by a Ferozepur court. However, the order was quashed by the additional district and sessions court, Ferozepur, on November 15, 2022, on his petition after he promised to surrender. He was directed to join the investigation. However, he chose not to surrender and has again been declared a proclaimed offender. He also preferred a second round of litigation for securing bail, but the plea was withdrawn on January 13, 2023, from the high court.
The order was passed by the court on January 30 in a clutch of petitions — one from the victim — alleging police inaction and some pleas from the accused, who has challenged various orders, including attachment of property proceedings.
As per the latest probe report in the high court, three of his bank accounts have been frozen and approximately 4 acres of land at Bhukri Kalan village, Ludhiana, has been attached on January 28, 2025, by a court. The police on December 3, 2024, also got published in newspapers “hue and cry notice” with his photograph to ascertain his whereabouts but he has not been arrested. As per the Ferozepur police, regular raids have been conducted at the possible hideouts and two dedicated teams under the supervision of the SP (investigation), Ferozepur, are probing the case.
The court observed that despite a lapse of more than four years and four months, the accused has not been arrested, and the same assurance is given by the police on every hearing that the accused will be arrested shortly.
It further remarked that a coordinate bench on December 19 had summoned the SSP and the DIG, Ferozepur, and a copy of the order was sent to the DGP also. But the police have still failed to arrest the businessman.
“Whatever persistent efforts the local jurisdictional police might have been taking to ensure the arrest of the accused, unfortunately, it is a very sorry state of affairs that the state machinery is unable to nab an accused despite elapse of 4 years and 4 months after the registration of an FIR way back in 2020; despite four times rejection of his bail applications up to the higher courts of law and despite the fact that the proclamation proceedings have already been initiated against the accused,” the court said.
“... therefore, this reluctant conduct of the jurisdictional police authorities in not apprehending the accused, leads this court to infer that the senior officers of the jurisdictional police are shying away from performing their duties to ensure the arrest of the accused, who has been prosecuted for committing heinous crime, and such reluctance reflects sheer incompetence on their part,” the court remarked while posting the matter for February 11 and making it clear that if the businessman is not arrested by then, the DGP and the home secretary would remain present to answer the “concerns of the court”.
