Punjab Vigilance Bureau registers case against police officer for extortions

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], November 2 : The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has registered a case against an assistant Inspector General (AIG) of the Human Rights Cell of the Punjab Police along with two others for alleged extortion and taking bribes from government employees, said officials.
The AIG has been identified as Malwinder Singh Sidhu, and the other two as Kuldeep Singh, a driver in the Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs Department, and Balbir Singh, a resident of Alampur village in Patiala district.
Speaking on the matter, a spokesperson for the state, VB, said the AIG Sidhu used to initiate complaints against government employees, only to subsequently withdraw these complaints in the process of blackmailing and in exchange for illicit gains.
"On the basis of a vigilance enquiry, the VB has taken stringent legal measures, leading to the registration of FIR number 28, dated October 30, 2023, against all the above-mentioned accused under sections 7 and 7-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act and under sections 384, 419, 420, and 120-B under Indian Penal Code at Police Station Vigilance Bureau, Flying Squad-1, Punjab, Mohali," said the Punjab VB.
He further informed that during the investigation, it was found that Malwinder Singh Sidhu, serving as AIG of Human Rights Cell, Punjab, since 2017, has never held the positions of AIG or IG within the Vigilance Bureau, Punjab, over the past five years. This officer misused his government vehicle, Ertiga (PB 65 AD 1905), while fuel and other expenses were being drawn from the government account. However, he never maintained records of vehicle usage (a log book), which indicated a misuse of government property, he added.
Furthermore, the investigation uncovered instances where AIG Sidhu falsely identified himself as the IG, Vigilance Bureau, Punjab, to a data operator working at the office of the Block Primary Education Officer, Rajpura. Sidhu, using this deceptive identity, obtained a photocopy of a government teacher's service book and took photographs of the initial page using his mobile phone.
Similarly, AIG Sidhu allegedly sent a written application to the principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Ghanour, on the email ID of the school and another application through the said accused, Kuldeep Singh, and received a record of a school teacher. In order to verify the records of these teachers taken from the school, he took the District Social Welfare Officer along with them to the school and tried to get the principal to sign the two-page proforma, but the principal refused to sign the form, the spokesman said.
He further added that another case under scrutiny involves Malwinder Singh Sidhu, through the above-said Balbir Singh, who obtained the personal record of a block officer in the Agriculture Department at Guru Harsahai, district Ferozepur, despite the objections raised by the concerned officer.
After this, they lodged a complaint against the concerned officer in his department for possessing a forged Scheduled Caste certificate. In return for withdrawing this complaint, a sum of three lakh rupees was demanded from the officer, of which one and a half lakh rupees were unlawfully accepted by Balbir Singh and Malwinder Singh Sidhu.
After this, the said Balbir Singh and Malwinder Singh Sidhu also received a bribe of Rs two lakh to give the victim more time from his department to complete this inquiry.
The spokesperson further added that Malwinder Singh Sidhu has dishonestly mentioned himself as AIG/IG of Vigilance Bureau, in connivance with Balbir Singh, in the departments of Scheduled Castes and Freedom Fighters, thereby procuring records of several individuals, only to later initiate complaints against them, blackmailing them and extracting bribes in exchange for retracting these complaints.
As the investigation unfolds in the coming days, it is likely that more accomplices may be implicated, which would be duly probed throughout the investigation, said the spokesperson.