E-Paper
Graft accused Chandigarh cop surrenders in CBI court
On March 5, CBI had filed a supplementary chargesheet against Pawan under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 7, 7A and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Head constable Pawan Kumar, an accused in ₹3 lakh graft case, surrendered on Monday in a special court of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He has been sent to judicial custody.
On March 5, CBI had filed a supplementary chargesheet against Pawan under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 7, 7A and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Similar charges were filed against Manish Dubey alias Bablu, brother of Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) leader and former deputy mayor Anil Dubey, and Anil Kumar alias Kuki, a scrap dealer, in the first chargesheet in October 2023.
While Manish and Kuki were caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of ₹3 lakh from the complainant at the Industrial Area on July 31 last year, Pawan had managed to flee from the scene.
Manish is a resident of Sector 32-A and Kuki of Sector 16, Panchkula.
As far as the role of inspector Harinder Sekhon is concerned, the supplementary chargesheet states that during investigation, no direct call/conversation of Sekhon was found with the complainant or the other accused.
According to the probe agency, it has established that Deepak, the complainant, was called by Sekhon to Operation Cell, Sector 26, on three dates in connection with an FIR dated July 18, 2023 (even before the case was registered) without the knowledge of investigating officer. It adds that there was no entry with this effect made in the record.
Sough bribe to not name complainant in extortion case
The complainant, Deepak of Ram Darbar, who runs a chicken shop, had approached CBI, alleging that head constable Pawan and inspector Sekhon, in-charge of operation cell, Chandigarh Police, had sought ₹7 lakh from him not to nominate him in an extortion case, wherein the operation cell had arrested five men, including gangster Deepu Banur, a close associate of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
The complainant alleged that on July 22, 2023, some cops told him that inspector Sekhon had called him to the operation cell. On accompanying them, he met Pawan and Sekhon, who questioned him about his association with Mani Topi, an accused arrested in some extortion case.
When Deepak revealed that Mani was his childhood friend, both the cops told him that they had recovered his chats with Mani, proving his criminal involvement.
Deepak alleged they demanded ₹7 lakh bribe to exclude his name from the FIR and detained him in the operation cell overnight, before letting him go on July 23 with a warning to pay ₹5 lakh soon.
On July 27, he got a call from Manish, who claimed that his friend Kuki was friends with Sekhon and Pawan, and will save him. Manish and Kuki then took him to the operation cell on July 29, where Pawan again threatened him in front of Sekhon, asking him to pay ₹5 lakh or be jailed, Deepak alleged.
After verification of the complaint, CBI had laid a trap on July 31 and arrested Manish and Kuki while accepting ₹3 lakh on behalf of Pawan.
