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With a chequered career, controversies galore for dismissed inspector Bajwa
Bajwa was among the three Punjab policemen, who were dismissed from service on Monday for allegedly implicating two men in a false drug case and extorting money from them
: From repeated suspensions to links with drug smugglers to chronic alcohol addiction, Ferozepur district’s Anti-Narcotics Cell incharge inspector Parminder Singh Bajwa, who was dismissed from service by the Punjab police, has been infamous for raking up controversies, with questions now being raised as to how such an officer was posted as the head of the unit involved in handling sensitive drugs cases.
Bajwa was among the three Punjab policemen, who were dismissed from service on Monday for allegedly implicating two men in a false drug case and extorting money from them.
Bajwa was not only suspended thrice in his career but was also arrested once in Jalandhar in 2018. Besides this, he is infamous in police circles for his chronic addiction to alcohol.
In 2018, Bajwa brought major embarrassment to the then Captain Amarinder Singh-led government just few days ahead of the by-polls for Shahhot assembly segment when as Mehatpur SHO, he not only registered an FIR against the ruling party’s candidate Laddi Sherowalia but also held a press conference in which he made personal remarks against the former chief minister.
He had also threatened a TV journalist with dire consequences during an interview. He was arrested by Jalandhar police in 2018 when he tried to enter the local court with his service revolver and thrashed an ASI posted at entry gate of the district court.
In 2018, it emerged in the medical reports that Bajwa was not mentally fit and was repeatedly admitted in a Ludhiana private hospital for treatment of “increased alcohol intake” for 160 days since May 2015.
During his first tenure as incharge of the Anti-Narcotics Cell, Bajwa was suspended in March 2022 by the then Ferozepur SSP Narendra Bhargav but was re-inducted on the same post when the SSP was changed.
A senior police official at Ferozepur district also revealed that Bajwa had developed links with drug smugglers in the border belt in the past couple of months and was quite active.
“His conduct has remained such that he is not fit for policing at all. It’s unbelievable that how such a person was made incharge of the Anti-Narcotics Cell,” questioned a former SSP who have worked with the officer in Doaba.
Bajwa along with assistant sub-inspector Angrej Singh and head constable Joginder Singh was dismissed from service on charges of falsely implicating two persons and planting on them 1kg heroin and showing recovery of ₹5 lakh from their possession. As the recovery seemed suspicious to the senior superintendent of police, Ferozepur, Surendra Lamba, he started probing the matter at an internal level.
Before Lamba joined as SSP last week, as the case had came to limelight before the other senior officers earlier as well, the role of such officers is also under scanner in the case as no action was taken despite clear cut evidences.
The SSP, when contacted, said the probe into the case was being conducted in a free and fair manner. “We are probing the case from all angles,” he said.
