Cop, wife, son among 5 held for duping Jagraon man of ₹6 lakh

A sub-inspector (SI) posted in Faridkot, along with his wife, son and two accomplices, has been booked for duping a Jagraon man of ₹6.1 lakh.

A sub-inspector (SI) posted in Faridkot, along with his wife, son and two accomplices, has been booked for duping a Jagraon man of ₹6.1 lakh.

According to the police, the SI had “borrowed” money from the son of the complainant, but the complainant alleged that the accused extorted money to settle the marital dispute of his son and daughter-in-law.

The accused have identified as SI Sukhdarshan Singh, his wife Raninder Kaur alias Renu, son Abhishek Singh Brar, and two accomplices Sukhjunt Singh and Dilbagh Singh of Jaiton in Faridkot.

The FIR has been registered following the statement of Amarjit Singh of Galib Kalan village in Jagraon.

In his complaint, Amarjit Singh, who is a farmer, stated that his son Gurinder Singh had a marital dispute with his wife, who was living at her parents’ house in Faridkot.

“We had come in contact with SI Sukhdarshan Singh, his wife and son, who also knew the in-laws of my son,” Amarjit said, alleging that the accused demanded Rs 6.1 lakh from him on the pretext of settling the matter amicably, but to no avail.

He further claimed that the SI and his family in collusion with his son’s in-laws duped them.

SI Kulwinder Singh, who is investigating the case, said the police found out that the accused had borrowed money from the complainant, but did not return it on time.

The FIR in the case has been registered under sections 420 and 406 of the IPC.

A hunt is on to nab the accused, he added.

Amarjit Singh also mentioned that he had filed the first complaint on October 3, 2019, but the police did not take any action.

He said he later filed another complaint with the senior superintendent of police (SSP) (Ludhiana Rural) on February 25, 2020. The SSP had then ordered a probe and marked an inquiry to superintendent of police (SP, headquarters). After investigation, the FIR was finally registered on Wednesday.

Sarpanch, panchayat secretary booked for embezzlement

The sarpanch and panchayat secretary of Rajoana Kalan village have been booked for embezzling panchayat funds, police said on Thursday.

The accused have been identified as sarpanch Nirmal Singh, who is associated with the Congress, and panchayat secretary Gurmeet Singh.

The FIR has been registered following the statement of block development and panchayat officer (BDPO) Heera Singh.

The BDPO said they had received a complaint from two residents of Rajoana Kalan — Gurjit Singh and Gurbakhsh Singh — about the embezzlement in panchayat funds.

When the department initiated an investigation, it was found that the accused had not deposited the money earned through auction of village pond in the account.

Apart from it, the sarpanch and panchayat secretary had also withdrawn Rs 25,000 from the account of panchayat.

Sudhar SHO Jasvir Singh said the department had asked the accused to deposit the record for examination, but they failed to do so.

He added that a case under sections 420, 406 and 409 of the IPC has been registered against the accused. A hunt is on for their arrest, he added.

When contacted, sarpanch Nirmal Singh refuted the allegation.

He termed the case politically motivated.