E-Paper
Bribery case: AIG Ashish Kapoor sent to four-day police remand by Mohali court
Counsel for AIG argued that DSP himself is the complainant in FIR registered by vigilance and he is the one who is probing the matter. As per law, the complainant cannot investigate
The Punjab vigilance bureau on Friday produced assistant inspector general of police (AIG) Ashish Kapoor, a Punjab police service (PPS) officer along with assistant sub inspector (ASI) Harvinder Singh before Mohali court, from where they were sent to four-day police remand. On Thursday, the vigilance bureau arrested both of them for taking a bribe of ₹1 crore through different cheques. Kapoor was now posted as commandant, 4th IRB, Pathankot. Both were produced before the court at around 2.30pm and verdict to send them to four-day police remand was pronounced at 6.30pm
Pradeep Singh Virk, counsel for AIG Ashish Kapoor argued that DSP himself is the complainant in the FIR registered by vigilance and he is the one who is probing the matter. According to the law, the complainant cannot investigate. He said that SIT was formed in this case in which two ADGP rank officers had investigated and they have given clean chit to AIG Ashish Kapoor. At the same time, the DSP rank officer of vigilance is registering an FIR by proving the investigation of the ADGP rank officer wrong, he stated in the court.
On the other hand, the Public Prosecutor told the court that AIG Ashish Kapoor had taken 11 cheques from the woman, through which she got ₹1 crore transferred to the accounts of her acquaintances and then took out the amount and kept it herself. He said that while in touch with the woman, he found her in Delhi, Karnal and many other places, whose CCTV footage has to be removed, so he needs police remand.
As per vigilance spokesperson, during his posting as Amritsar central jail superintendent, in 2016, Kapoor had got acquainted with a woman inmate, Poonam Rajan of Sector 30, Kurukshetra, who was on judicial remand in a case. Poonam, along with her mother Prem Lata, brother Kuldeep Singh and sister-in-law Preeti, was also in police remand in a cheating case registered at Zirakpur police station. Kapoor went to the police station and fraudulently convinced Poonam’s mother Prem Lata to help her get bail and acquittal from the court. Kapoor, in connivance with Pawan Kumar, the then SHO of Zirakpur police station, and ASI Harjinder Singh got Preeti declared innocent in the case. In lieu of that favour, Kapoor obtained signatures of Prem Lata on different cheques amounting to ₹1 crore and deposited them under the names of his known people and got them encashed through ASI Harjinder Singh.
