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{Drugs charges on cops} Punjab wants sealed cover reports on role of officers examined
The main case on the state’s drugs menace, Bhola Drugs Racket is now to be taken up for hearing on Tuesday; Punjab’s plea for opening of some sealed reports on the role of Punjab police officers was filed on Monday
Chandigarh The Punjab government on Monday moved the Punjab and Haryana high court seeking the opening of some sealed cover reports filed on the role of Punjab police officers in drugs cases. The application was taken up by the bench of justice AG Masih and justice AK Verma and posted for hearing on Tuesday, when the main case on the state’s drugs menace, Bhola Drugs Racket is to be taken up for hearing.
The court is to examine on Tuesday whether the sealed cover reports on role of influential persons on drugs trafficking submitted in 2017-2018 by the state Special Investigating Team (SIT), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and a government panel can be opened.
Now, the court will also take up Monday’s plea from the state in which government is seeking that one report submitted by another SIT led by S Chattopadhyaya and a report signed singularly by him be opened. These reports were submitted on May 8, 2018. It also demands opening of two more status reports filed on January 30, 2018 and March 15, 2018 submitted by the SIT. All these reports are lying in a sealed cover before registrar judicial of the high court.
“The investigating agency could not proceed further against the delinquent officers/ persons whose role has been inquired into at the asking of this court and the reports submitted by the SIT headed by S Chattopadhyaya as well as by (then) STF head Harpreeet Singh Sidhu are lying in sealed covers,” Punjab’s plea says adding that there is urgency to file this plea in public interest, so as to control the drug mafia operating in Punjab and to bring the “delinquent to book”.
The Chattopadhyaya, led SIT was roped in by the high court in December 15, 2017 to probe a case involving then Moga SSP Raj Jit Singh Hundal. In this case an inspector and a former DSP were accused. The case was being probed by then special task force on drugs headed by HS Sidhu. As Hundal alleged “implication” at the hands of Sidhu, the high court constituted fresh SIT for this case with Chattopadhyaya and two others, IPS officer, Prabodh Kumar and former IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, as members.
TWO REPORTS FILED ON SAME DAY IN 2018
One of the two reports filed on May 8, 2018 by the then Chattopadhyaya before high court in Hundal’s case, deals with the “role” of the then DGP, Suresh Arora and DGP, Dinkar Gupta. However, two other members of SIT Prabodh Kumar and Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh had not associated themselves with this report, which talks about “role” of these two. The second report was signed by all three officers.
On May 23, 2018, the high court while taking both the reports on record had said that “all these reports need to be examined in conjunction with reference to the issues formulated by this court or the task assigned to the SIT by way of orders passed from time to time.” The then advocate general Atul Nanda had opposed the report, filed singularly by Chattopadhyaya. After this hearing, the issue of these reports has not been taken up.
Pertinently, it was during the hearing of Hundal’s case that Chattopadhyaya, in March 2018, had alleged that he was being “implicated” in the suicide case of Inderpreet Chadha, son of former Chief Khalsa Diwan president Charanjit Singh Chadha, due to his investigation into the drugs case. Acting on his plea, the high court had stayed probe against Chattopadhyaya in the suicide case. Chadha shot himself on January 3, 2018.
