E-Paper
Punjab vigilance files chargesheet against DIG Inderbir in 2 bribery cases
DIG Inderbir is already in the thick of controversy as he was indicted by a Supreme Court-appointed inquiry committee, led by Justice Indu Malhotra (retd), for dereliction of duty, causing a breach in the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security during his Punjab visit in 2022. Inderbir was then posted as DIG Ferozepur. The case has been moved for major punishment.
Tightening the noose around 2007-batch IPS officer, deputy inspector general (DIG) of police Inderbir Singh, the Punjab vigilance bureau (VB) filed chargesheets against him in two bribery cases, one of which was related to a drug case.
He is the first DIG-rank IPS officer in Punjab Police to be indicted by the VB in two cases.
DIG Inderbir is already in the thick of controversy as he was indicted by a Supreme Court-appointed inquiry committee, led by Justice Indu Malhotra (retd), for dereliction of duty, causing a breach in the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security during his Punjab visit in 2022. Inderbir was then posted as DIG Ferozepur. The case has been moved for major punishment.
The vigilance chargesheets are also related to his tenure as DIG Ferozepur. In both cases, the DIG is accused of taking bribe – one from a drug peddler and another from a sub-inspector. The chargesheets were filed after suspended deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and co-accused Lakhbir Singh Sandhu approached the court to turn an approver.
A vigilance spokesperson has confirmed that the chargesheets have been submitted in Tarn Taran court.
Case 1: Bribe from drug supplier
In the first case, DSP Sandhu (now suspended) was booked for allegedly taking ₹10 lakh bribe from a drug supplier, Pishora Singh, for not naming him in a Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) case registered by the Bhikhiwind police in Tarn Taran on July 3, 2022.
Sandhu, in his affidavit, told the court that his cousin Hira Singh had asked him to help Pishora Singh, who was named in a 2022 drug case in Tarn Taran. Sandhu said that he had spoken to Inderbir via a WhatsApp call and requested him to not nominate Pishora in the matter.
“Inderbir Singh told me that he has spoken to cops in Tarn Taran, but in return, he wanted ₹12 lakh from Pishora Singh,” read the affidavit.
Sandhu further submitted before the court that Pishora gave him ₹10 lakh to be paid to Inderbir but he was still named as a co-accused in the drugs case on July 3, 2022. An amount of ₹9.97 lakh was recovered from the house of Hira Singh, at the instance of accused Pishora Singh, which was to be given to Inderbir Singh.
Case 2: Extortion from sub-inspector
In the second case, Sandhu and the then reader of the DIG, Barjinder Singh were booked for allegedly extorting ₹23 lakh from a sub-inspector (SI) for not implicating him in a drugs case in July 2022.
In his affidavit, Sandhu told the court that on December 12, 2021, he had come to know from his cousin ASI Rashpal Singh that sub-inspector (SI) Baljinder Singh had been kept in illegal detention in Ferozepur on the directions of Inderbir. “I went to Chandigarh and met Inderbir Singh and spoke to him about sub-inspector Baljinder Singh. Inderbir demanded ₹35 lakh to settle the matter, stating that if we failed to pay up, he would get an FIR registered against the SI under the NDPS Act,” reads the affidavit.
The affidavit further states that the SI gave ₹10 lakh and ₹13 lakh to Sandhu at his office and house on December 13 and 15, 2021, respectively. Sandhu further said he handed over ₹23 lakh to DIG Inderbir, on December 21, 2021, at his official residence at Ferozepur.
The suspended DSP Sandhu has already recorded his statement under Section 164 (confession before a magistrate) of the CrPC in the Tarn Taran court, stating that he had handed over the bribe money to the then DIG Ferozepur range Inderbir. The court has fixed the next date of hearing on March 18.
Mobile tower locations, other evidence helped nail DIG
The Punjab Police had named DIG Inderbir as accused in both cases in 2023.
“The mobile tower locations of the DIG and the accused in bribery cases, have matched. There are a lot of other scientific and circumstantial evidence which nail the DIG,” said a VB official.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gurmeet Singh, who is probing the case, said that a challan has been presented after collecting strong evidence and statements of various persons. He said that he can’t divulge more information as the case is sub judice.
DIG not arrested yet, observes court
The Tarn Taran court order reads, “The challan has been presented against Inderbir Singh as well. The investigation for both the FIRs is complete but the accused Inderbir Singh has not been arrested or produced, regarding which defence counsel Satnam Singh, has contended that this is not a healthy practice to violate the Section 170 of Cr.P.C. The challan in FIR number 115 of 2022 was presented.”
Section 170 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) provides that if, upon an investigation, it appears to the officer-in-charge of the police station that there is sufficient evidence or reasonable ground, such officer shall forward the accused under custody to a magistrate empowered to take cognisance of the offence upon a police report and to try the accused or commit him for trial, or, if the offence is bailable and the accused is able to give security, shall take security from him for his appearance before such magistrate on a day fixed and for the attendance from day-to-day before such magistrate until otherwise directed.
