Former Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini, 61, on Friday moved an application in a Mohali court, seeking anticipatory bail in a case registered against him on Wednesday in connection with the disappearance of one Balwant Singh Multani in 1991.
Refusing to hear the arguments or staying the arrest, the court summoned records from the Punjab Police. In response to the court’s notice, Punjab Police will file a reply to the application seeking anticipatory bail on Saturday.
A case was registered against Saini and 7 others under Sections 364 (kidnapping or abduction in order to murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 344 (wrongful confinement), 330 (voluntarily causing hurt to exhort confession) and 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy) in Mohali on the complaint of Multani’s brother Palwinder Singh Multani.
“Since the Congress came to power, they are continuously harassing me. The Congress government has revengeful attitude,” said the 28-page application in which Saini projected himself as a victim of vendetta, citing registration of cases against current chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on the basis of investigations done by the vigilance bureau when he headed the agency.
Referring to Ludhiana City Centre, and Amritsar Improvement Trust cases, Saini said, “I performed my duties without fear or favour and cases involving loss to state exchequer of over ₹1,500 crore, abuse of official positions to give pecuniary advantage to favoured persons and tampering of Vidhan Sabha records, amassing assets disproportionate to known income and routing ill gotten wealth through private companies, shell companies were registered against the then and present CM Captain Amarinder Singh.”
{{/usCountry}}Referring to Ludhiana City Centre, and Amritsar Improvement Trust cases, Saini said, “I performed my duties without fear or favour and cases involving loss to state exchequer of over ₹1,500 crore, abuse of official positions to give pecuniary advantage to favoured persons and tampering of Vidhan Sabha records, amassing assets disproportionate to known income and routing ill gotten wealth through private companies, shell companies were registered against the then and present CM Captain Amarinder Singh.”
{{/usCountry}}Saini said after he reliquished the charge as head of vigilance bureau, cancellation reports were presented in Amritsar Improvement Trust, and Ludhiana City Centre cases, registered in 2007 and 2008, respectively.
“When the illegal design of the state government and police miserably failed to falsely implicate me, now they have started digging the earth to bring old cases which have attained finality uptill apex court,” reads the application.
The application says that Multani was arrested and presented before a court, while requesting court to stay his arrest. A police team from Mohali was in Delhi on Friday to arrest Saini.
Multani, a junior engineer with the Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Corporation, was allegedly picked up by the police after a terrorist attack on Saini in which four cops in his security were killed. The police later claimed Multani escaped from the custody of Qadian police. Saini, was posted as the Chandigarh senior superintendent of police in 1991.
Counsel withdraws
Hours after moving application for Saini’s anticipatory bail, his counsel Satnam Singh Kaler withdrew from the case. “I am a Sikh and for me religion is more important. I have always remained away from controversy. I was personally hurt and decided to withdrew from the case.” Kaler had faced a lot of flak on the social media for representing Saini.