Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
In a move that could turn the heat on the Punjab Police brass in the drug mafia nexus case, chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday directed Punjab Police chief Gaurav Yadav to probe all officers, however senior they may be, who directly or indirectly helped in drug trafficking, including those who promoted the now dismissed inspector Inderjit Singh.
“Depute a senior IPS officer to probe the case related to FIR No. 1 registered against Inderjit Singh. Book (dismissed former SSP) Raj Jit Singh under Section 120 (B) of the IPC (for criminal conspiracy). All three reports of the special investigation team (SIT) should be taken into account. The investigating officer should examine the role of all police officers concerned, howsoever highly placed they may be, who have directly or indirectly helped in drug trafficking or smuggling. The investigating officer should conclude the investigation within a month and submit the report,” said the letter by the special secretary, home, to the DGP.
The letter said: “It is not possible for a low-rank ORP (own rank promoted) inspector to run such a huge network of extortion and drug trafficking alone. Action should be taken against senior officers who approved transfers, promotions, grant of local rank to Inderjit Singh on the recommendations of (now dismissed) Raj Jit Singh, PPS. For identification of such senior officers, relevant files should be sent to the government by 4pm tomorrow (Thursday).”
“It appears from the investigation conducted by the SIT that Inderjit Singh was the favourite of many police officers. Therefore, please report within three days whether any other SSP/IPS officer had requested for his posting,” the chief minister directed.
The chief minister is acting on the three special investigation team (SIT) reports on the police-drug mafia nexus recently opened by the Punjab and Haryana high court. Former Moga senior superintendent of police (SSP) Raj Jit Singh Hundal was dismissed from service recently and a vigilance probe was ordered into assets allegedly amassed by him by selling narcotics.
“We won’t spare anyone involved in drugs. After opening the sealed cover reports, Raj Jit Singh was booked and has been dismissed from service. The vigilance bureau has been asked to probe the wealth he amassed by selling ‘chitta (heroin)’,” the chief minister had tweeted.
Though Raj Jit Singh was not directly indicted in the reports conducted by the SIT to ascertain his complicity with inspector Inderjit Singh, who was caught by the special task force against drugs with 6kg of heroin, it had suggested “definite scope for further inquiry” into his properties.
In the letter to the chief director, vigilance bureau, the Punjab home department said: “The reports of the SIT suggest that innocent persons were falsely implicated for extorting money from them. Therefore, you are asked to register an FIR under Sections 7 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 59 of the NDPS Act and other relevant provisions of the law against Raj Jit and Inderjit Singh.”
