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Ludhiana: VB nabs wanted conman Pinder Sodhi
Punjab vigilance bureau arrests conman Pinder Sodhi, declared a proclaimed offender for posing as officials and obtaining ₹25 lakh from farmers.
The Punjab vigilance bureau (VB) on Thursday arrested conman Pinder Sodhi, who along with his accomplices was declared a proclaimed offender for obtaining two cheques amounting to ₹25 lakh from farmers by posing as vigilance officials.
A VB spokesperson said that Sodhi, a resident of Chabbewal town in Hoshiarpur district, was arrested from a park in the sector 32 area, near BCM School, Chandigarh Road in Ludhiana. On seeing the vigilance officials, he tried to flee. The vigilance bureau recovered logos of the Human Rights Commission, besides three mobile phones, a driving licence of UAE, Indian currency notes, along with 305 Dirham from the car. He would be produced in a court on Friday.
The spokesperson said that a case against Sodhi was registered by complainant Palwinder Singh, a resident of Bhaini Salu village of Koom Kalan in Ludhiana.
The complainant had said that he had sold 18 acres of his ancestral land. Thereafter, he received a notice regarding the sale of panchayat land. Later, three unknown persons came to his house on August 12, 2023, posing themselves as officers from the vigilance department in Chandigarh.
The complainant alleged that the accused claimed that he had sold the panchayat land by claiming it as his ancestral land. The accused demanded ₹50 lakh from him to sort out the matter claiming that an inquiry was already marked against the land deal. The accused also threatened him that if he did not give them money, they would lodge an FIR against him.
The complainant agreed to pay ₹25 lakh to them. The imposters made him issue two cheques amounting ₹15 lakh and ₹10 lakh as a guarantee and promised to return it once they received ₹25 lakh in cash. The imposters had taken ₹ 27,000 in cash from him and left after taking his phone number.
The complainant added that he received threatening calls on his WhatsApp from the accused that they will lodge an FIR against him if he did not pay ₹25 lakh to them.
The spokesperson added that after the complainant approached the vigilance bureau, an FIR under sections 7-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act and 384, 120-B of the IPC was registered against Manjeet Singh of Bhaini Salu village and four other unknown persons at VB police station, Ludhiana range, on August 28, 2023. Later, the vigilance bureau had arrested Manjeet Singh, Paramjeet Singh of Mehlon village of Samrala, and Parminder Singh, a resident of Akash Colony, Hoshiarpur city. Pinder Sodhi, and Hardip Singh, a resident of Khamano, were absconding and were declared proclaimed offenders (PO) by the court in January.
On January 19, 2019, Sodhi was booked by Koom Kalan police for duping 11 city residents on the pretext of helping them in securing jobs in the income tax department. Impersonating himself as a senior income tax officer, Sodhi along with his aides had duped the victims of ₹1.4 crore.
