E-Paper
More trouble for Pinder, booked for duping 3 police aspirants of ₹21 lakh
VB arrested conman in February for getting cheques worth ₹25 lakh farmers by posing as vigilance official.
Trouble mounted for notorious conman Pinder as the police registered a fresh first-information report (FIR) against him for allegedly duping three aspirants on the pretext of getting them a job in the Punjab Police.
The accused claimed he had contacts in the state police and government and took ₹21.5 lakh from the victims.
When Pinder stopped responding to their calls, the victims realised they had been duped and approached the police. A case was registered against Pinder Sodhi alias Gurpreet Singh Sodhi of Hoshiarpur.
The complainant, Gurminder Singh of Pharwahi village in Barnala, said he was interested in joining the Punjab Police and came in contact with Pinder, who assured him a job as a constable. He alleged that the accused had lured two other aspirants, Major Singh and Joginder Singh, promising them the same.
Gurminder Singh said that the accused took ₹21.50 lakh from them in the name of officers and later stopped taking their calls. As they realised that they had been duped, they filed a complaint to the police on March 14. After investigating the matter for four months, the Model Town police registered an FIR on Friday.
Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Baldev Singh, who is investigating the case, stated that an FIR under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against the accused.
On February 29, the state Vigilance Bureau (VB) had arrested Pinder, a resident of Chabbewal town. He, along with his accomplices, was declared a proclaimed offender for obtaining two cheques amounting to ₹25 lakh from farmers by posing as vigilance officials.
The case was registered following a complaint by Palwinder Singh, a resident of Bhaini Salu village in Koom Kalan, Ludhiana.
The complainant had informed officials that he sold 18 acres of his ancestral land and then received a notice regarding the sale of panchayat land. Later, three unknown persons came to his house on August 12, 2023, posing as officers from the Chandigarh vigilance department.
The complainant alleged the accused told him that he had sold panchayat land by claiming it as his ancestral land. The accused demanded ₹50 lakh from him to sort out the matter, claiming that an investigation had already been made into the land deal, the complainant added.
The accused threatened him that if he did not give them money, they would register a case against him, the complaint added.
On January 19, 2019, Pinder was booked by the Koom Kalan police for allegedly duping 11 city residents on the pretext of helping them secure jobs in the income tax department. Pinder had impersonated a senior income tax officer and duped victims of ₹1.4 crore.
