E-Paper
Punjab: ASI drives off with bribe money but getaway car gets stuck in pothole
₹10,000, opium recovered from vehicle, accused cop manages to flee on a scooter; a spokesperson of the VB said the ASI had accepted a bribe of ₹10,000 from Jagtar Singh of Himtana village for removing the name of his son from an FIR
The police recovered bribe money of ₹10,000, 460-gm poppy husk and 9-gm opium from an assistant sub-inspector’s (ASI) car, after his car got stuck on pothole-riddled Nabha-Bhawanigarh Road on Monday night.
The vigilance bureau and Sangrur police recovered the bribe money and drugs from the car of ASI Malwinder Singh posted at Malerkotla city police station-1. However, the ASI managed to escape by allegedly taking an Activa from a local resident.
A spokesperson of the VB said the ASI had accepted a bribe of ₹10,000 from Jagtar Singh of Himtana village for removing the name of his son from an FIR.
He said Jagtar Singh lodged a complaint that a case of fraud and cheating was registered against his son Pawanpreet Singh on May 19 last year. To remove the name of his son, the accused ASI had demanded a bribe of ₹50,000. The complainant said the ASI had already taken ₹10,000 from him.
After preliminary investigation, a VB team laid a trap to nab the accused cop, but he managed to escape with the bribe money. The VB chased him and found his car abandoned near Balad Kanchian (Bhawanigarh). During checking of the car, the VB and Sangrur police recovered ₹10,000, 460-gm poppy husk and 9-gm opium from the vehicle.
Satgur Singh of Gunike village, whose scooter was taken by the cop, said, “When I reached near Balad Kanchian, the accused cop stopped me and asked me to give my scooter to him as he was chasing a murder accused and his own car was stuck. He was accompanied by another cop.”
He said around ₹50,000 and the passport of his daughter were lying in the scooter.
The spokesperson said a case under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against ASI Malwinder Singh.
Bhawanigarh SHO inspector Ajay Kumar said, “The person accompanying the ASI is yet to be identified. We have registered a case under sections 15 and 18 of the NDPS Act at Bhawanigarh police station.”
