Eighteen years after the Moga intercourse scandal made headlines, a particular CBI court docket in Mohali on Monday sentenced 4 former Punjab Police officers, together with then senior superintendent of police Devinder Singh Garcha after which superintendent of police (headquarters) Paramdip Singh Sandhu, to 5 years’ imprisonment within the case registered towards them below the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act in 2007.
The accused Punjab Police personnel being produced in a particular CBI court docket in Mohali on March 29. (HT Picture)
CBI particular decide, Mohali, Rakesh Gupta pronounced the decision after convicting Garcha, Sandhu, then Moga metropolis SHO Raman Kumar after which inspector Amarjit Singh below Sections 13(1)(d) and 13(2) of the PC Act on March 29.
Raman Kumar, who was additionally convicted below Part 384 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), was awarded eight-year imprisonment by the court docket, whereas Amarjit Singh was held responsible below Sections 384 and 511 (try to extort) and sentenced to a complete of six years and 6 months in jail. Whereas the previous SSP and SP pays ₹2 lakh as high quality, the court docket imposed a penalty of ₹3 lakh on Raman Kumar and ₹2.5 lakh high quality on Amarjit Singh.
The CBI court docket acquitted Barjinder Singh, alias Makhan, the son of former Punjab minister Tota Singh and Sukhraj Singh of all the fees.
Garcha and Sandhu have been arrested for blackmailing influential individuals to extort cash.
The CBI took over the probe on the Punjab and Haryana excessive court docket’s path on December 11, 2007. A day later, the central probe company registered a contemporary FIR within the case.
Within the 2009 challan, the central investigating company framed expenses towards, Garcha, Sandhu, Raman Kumar, Amarjit Singh apart from Barjinder Singh, Manjit Kaur, Sukhraj Singh, Karamjit Singh Tub and Ranbir Singh, all residents of Moga district.
Felony conspiracy
The probe concluded that the accused public servants abused their official positions and entered right into a prison conspiracy to acquire undue pecuniary acquire by corrupt and unlawful means. Harmless individuals have been implicated to extract unlawful gratification to exclude their names primarily based on affidavits sworn by Manjit Kaur, the so-called minor sufferer/complainant.
Manjit Kaur together with advocates Tub and Ranbir turned approver within the case.
In 2018, Manjit Kaur alongside together with her husband Rajpreet Singh have been murdered in Zira.
In accordance with the challan, two ladies, together with Manjit Kaur, in connivance with the law enforcement officials and Barjinder extorted cash from influential individuals by threatening to border them in sexual abuse instances in the event that they refused to pay up. A number of distinguished businessmen of Moga have been blackmailed.
Grievance that uncovered racket
The case got here to gentle on June 7, 2007, when Ranjit Singh of Bhagike village in Moga complained to the extra director basic of police (legislation and order), alleging that the then SHO Amarjit Singh had demanded a bribe of ₹50,000 from him over telephone and threatened that in case of non-payment, his identify can be included within the rape case registered on the criticism of Manpreet Kaur.
The complainant together with others was later booked in one other FIR dated June 4, 2007, below Sections 323, 342, 506 and 149 of the IPC at Baghapurana police station on the criticism of Manpreet Kaur.
Ranjit Singh’s criticism was marked to the Baghapurana DSP for an inquiry following which a case was registered on October 24, 2007, towards then inspector Amarjit Singh, Manjit Kaur and Manpreet Kaur below the PC Act.
CASE FILE
The scandal surfaced in 2007, in the course of the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP authorities’s tenure, when a gangrape case was registered at Moga metropolis police station primarily based on a criticism by a younger girl from Jagraon. Her assertion was recorded below Part 164 of the CrPC.
Nevertheless, what adopted was a disturbing flip as investigators discovered that sure law enforcement officials had manipulated the case, allegedly including names of businessmen and political figures to extort cash.
The state of affairs escalated after an audio recording surfaced, allegedly capturing law enforcement officials demanding bribes to settle the case.
Investigations revealed a racket involving two ladies who, in collusion with the police, would entrap businessmen and extort cash. Although the ladies have been later given a clear chit, the CBI’s probe led to the arrest and conviction of the 4 key police personnel.