|
Vigilance chief Sumedh Saini
under a cloud once again
WSN Network
 CHANDIGARH:
Punjab Vigilance Bureau chief Sumedh Saini, who has been accused by
many Sikh community members, panthic organizations and people's
struggles of being a serial human rights offender, has now been
accused by none other than a senior Punjab IAS officer VK Janjua of
some very serious charges.
Janjua, who was
suspended after allegedly being caught in a graft case and who has
now brought the focus on the way traps are laid and personal agendas
are carried out by police officials and law enforcers, has filed a
complaint with the Chandigarh Police against Sumedh Singh Saini, and
other Vigilance officials demanding that they should be booked for
criminal trespass, assault on public servant, criminal conspiracy,
wrongful confinement to extort property and other relevant Sections
of the IPC.
|
The
bitter feud between the Badals and Amarinder Singh families has by
default resulted in granting a huge role and extra-legal powers to
the Vigilance Bureau since this agency was used by both sides to
harrass each other. |
|
He has claimed
that Saini and others hatched a criminal conspiracy and staged a
fake trap. Janjua has demanded that besides Saini, Ludhiana
Vigilance SP S S Mand, DSP (Vigilance), Ludhiana, Ravcharan Singh
Brar, SP (Vigilance) S P Singh and T R Mishra should also be booked.
Mishra had filed the FIR in which Janjua was booked by the
Vigilance.
Janjua has
alleged that while according to records the Vigilance Bureau had
lodged the FIR against him at 11.05 am on November 9, 2009 in
Mohali, it was actually filed at 10.30 pm because the Ilaqa
Magistrate received it at 10.50 pm. “No FIR existed anywhere in
Punjab when the accused stormed into my office around 1.30 pm the
same day,” Janjua said.
He alleged that
he was in his office at Udyog Bhavan, Sector 17,
Chandigarh,
when Mand, Brar and other Vigilance officials stormed into his
office without permission. “When I asked them to get out, Brar said
he was DSP (Vigilance), Ludhiana. They locked the door of my office
from inside, used criminal force on me, caught hold of my hands and
pinned me down. They rained blows on my face and body. Then they
claimed that they found an envelope, containing cash, from the
drawer of my table,” he said.
“I kept
protesting that I am innocent and had not demanded or accepted
anything from Mishra but they did not listen to me. There were at
least 20 persons outside my office but they did not allow anyone to
enter,” reads the complaint.
“As a raiding
team, they did not let the security staff frisk them as required by
law before searching my office to prevent planting of incriminating
material. They planted the envelope in my office so that a false
case under Prevention of Corruption Act could be made out against
me,” he alleged.
Janjua's case
has become a sort of test case and not many are speaking up for fear
of the Vigilance Bureau. The bitter feud between the Badals and
Amarinder Singh families has by default resulted in granting a huge
role and extra-legal powers to the Vigilance Bureau since this
agency was used by both sides to harrass each other.
Meanwhile, a
woman kin of Saini Amar Kaur who is above 91 years of age has also
accused him of kidnapping and had even alleged a judge-accused
nexus. Saini and three other Punjab police officials are facing
criminal proceedings in a case in which three people went missing
from a Ludhiana police station 14 years ago.
17
February 2010
|
Read Also