Home secy told to submit tainted cops’ list, suggestion for action

Punjab Vidhan Sabha speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan has said that he has increased the ambit of the report on ‘tainted’ cops and asked the home secretary to submit the report in this regard even as a court in Faridkot on Tuesday dismissed the anticipatory bail application of suspended assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Bohar Singh in a corruption case that was registered last month.
Sandhwan, who had on Monday summoned the director general of police (DGP) to submit a report on Tuesday on the ASI for allegedly helping a gangster for bribe, said he issued directions to the home secretary on the demand raised by many MLAs in the assembly. “Black sheep need to be punished and we have set the ball rolling,” he said.
On being asked if the DGP has submitted the report as asked by him, Sandhwan said he doesn’t want to pinpoint on a single name, but wants to correct the system so asked the home secretary to prepare a list of such black sheep and suggest action against them. “I have directed the home secretary to submit the report by end of this week,” he told HT.
After Sandhwan had accused ASI Bohar Singh of taking bribe from a gangster to hush up a case, the Faridkot SSP had suspended the cop and a departmental inquiry was initiated against him.
Anantdeep Singh, alias Roma, of Kotkapura had said that the Kotkapura police had registered the case of sexual harassment and illegal confinement against him in September 2015. In November 2015, the police filed a cancellation report but the court declined to accept that. Roma, said to be a close aide of absconding gangster Ranjit Singh Dupla, had alleged that ASI Bohar Singh assured him of getting the cancellation report admitted in the court with the help of senior police officers in return of ₹1.5 lakh. He alleged that after getting ₹1.5 lakh, Bohar Singh demanded ₹50,000 more from him.
ASI Bohar Singh, in his application before Faridkot additional sessions judge Dinesh Kumar Wadhwa on Tuesday, claimed, “The complainant (gangster) is a confidant of Kultar Singh Sandhwan and his brother Birinder Singh Sandhwan. Besides an FIR registered at the Kotkapura city police station in 2015, he is also accused in two FIRs registered in 2012 at the Faridkot city police station and Kotkapura sadar police station for an offence under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC.”
In the bail application, ASI Bohar Singh said, “A false case was registered against me at the behest of Kotkapura MLA Kultar Singh Sandhwan who wreaked vendetta as he had complained against his (speaker’s) brother Birinder Singh for abusing him on phone while he was on duty.”
The court also heard the recorded telephonic communication between Bohar Singh and speaker’s brother. An audio recording purportedly of Birinder allegedly abusing Bohar Singh on call had gone viral on social media in June.
“Birinder Singh Sandhwan is brother of Kultar Singh Sandhwan. He abused the applicant, threatened him of dire consequences and also threatened to get him posted at a remote place. By doing so, Birinder deterred the applicant in discharging his official duty. The applicant recorded the conversation and also recorded a DDR at the Faridkot sadar police station on June 12. Due to the political intervention of Sandhwan, the applicant was humiliated and transferred from the Faridkot sadar police station the same day in the late hours,” the plea stated.
On Monday, Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira had stated on X that he felt the speaker had a “personal vested interest” against the ASI or through him he wanted to target his political opponents.
During Monday’s sitting, AAP MLA Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh had suggested transfer of every policeman after 18 months or two years to ‘break the nexus’.
Pargat Singh of the Congress had suggested dope test for the cops at the junior level because, according to him, two to three police personnel in every police station are addicted to drugs.