Chandigarh: Cop awarded four-year RI in ₹10,000 bribe case - Hindustan Times
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Chandigarh: Cop awarded four-year RI in 10,000 bribe case

ByRajanbir Singh, Chandigarh
Feb 01, 2023 12:48 AM IST

The constable, Dilbaj Singh, was convicted under Sections 7 and 13 (1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act by the court of special CBI judge Jagjit Singh

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court has awarded four-year rigorous imprisonment to a constable of the Chandigarh Police for accepting a 10,000 bribe from a parking contractor in 2014.

Two more cops, including the then Sector-34 station house officer (SHO), Rajesh Shukla, and head constable Mukesh Kumar were also arrested in the matter. However, the proceedings against the SHO were abated in May 2022 after his death and the head constable was acquitted. (Getty Images)
Two more cops, including the then Sector-34 station house officer (SHO), Rajesh Shukla, and head constable Mukesh Kumar were also arrested in the matter. However, the proceedings against the SHO were abated in May 2022 after his death and the head constable was acquitted. (Getty Images)

The constable, Dilbaj Singh, was convicted under Sections 7 and 13 (1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act by the court of special CBI judge Jagjit Singh. He was sentenced to four-year RI for both offences, terms for which will run concurrently. He was also fined 5,000 each under both offences.

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Two more cops, including the then Sector-34 station house officer (SHO), Rajesh Shukla, and head constable Mukesh Kumar were also arrested in the matter. However, the proceedings against the SHO were abated in May 2022 after his death and the head constable was acquitted.

During the quantum of sentence on Tuesday, Dilbaj prayed for leniency, stating that he had an impeccable career record and had two sons who were dependent on him.

But the prosecution argued that the accused, along with SHO Shukla, had suppressed the human and fundamental rights of the complainant.

“The police force nowadays is using its vast powers for corruption, leaving no faith of the people in this force. The monthly payment process adopted by people like the convict needs to be checked, as they are custodians of law and are required to implement it,” they argued.

Noting that the convict didn’t deserve any leniency, the court observed, “Corruption has seeped so much into the roots of society, and every nook and corner that people have started forming a notion that for any work they have to bribe some official. Slowly, an opinion is being formed that even for their lawful work, a person or official has to be bribed. The persons like the convict should remember that our good deeds never go unrewarded, while bad deeds do not go unpunished.”

On September 2, 2014, a parking contractor in Sector 34, Lalit Joshi, had approached the CBI, alleging that the Sector-34 police were pressuring him to pay a monthly bribe to allow him to run the parking lot. He had claimed that they had demanded 15,000, with 5,000 each to be paid to the three accused.

The next day, after taking 10,000 from Joshi in Sector 34, the three cops had proceeded to the Burail police post where CBI sleuths had nabbed the SHO with the bribe money. On being questioned, the constable had claimed that he had accepted the money on the SHO’s behalf.

As per the CBI charge sheet, the parking contractor had claimed that the SHO had accused him of consuming liquor in the parking lot and had even gotten him medically examined. It was after this that the SHO demanded the bribe, following which he complained to CBI.

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