A local court on Wednesday dismissed the bail plea of former deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Gursher Singh Sandhu who was booked in October last year for forgery and graft after allegedly misusing his position to gain monetary benefits in land deals in Mohali.
Sandhu had submitted his bail application on Friday, three months after he was booked after a departmental inquiry.
After Punjab Police submitted their reply on Wednesday, opposing bail to Sandhu, the court of additional district and sessions judge Baljinder Singh Sra denied him bail.
Complying with a Punjab and Haryana high court order, dated July 18, 2024, on the petition of one Baljinder Singh of Mohali to protect his life and liberty from DSP Sandhu, the Punjab director general of police (DGP) had marked a probe to Rupnagar Range deputy inspector general of police (DIG) Nilambari Vijay Jagdale.
She had further marked the probe to the Rupnagar superintendent of police (SP, Investigation).
The DIG in her probe had found that the allegations made by the petitioner were substantiated with evidence, and the act and conduct of DSP Sandhu, who was posted at Special Cell, Mohali, entailed criminal liability for which a criminal case/FIR was liable to be registered, and investigated for forgery and connected offences.
The DIG further recommended a regular departmental inquiry against Sandhu.
Following this, the DGP had ordered an FIR against Sandhu, who was booked on October 15, 2024, by the state crime police under Sections 419, 465, 467, 468 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code, besides Section 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which pertains to a public servant committing criminal misconduct.
Complainant holds grudge against me: DSP in bail plea
In his bail plea, Sandhu had claimed that complainant Baljinder Singh was harbouring a grudge against him and filing false complaints against him because he had removed his security cover.
The former DSP also accused the Rupnagar SP of trying to settle scores with him on account of inter-department rivalry.
Sandhu claimed that the SP did not consider the fact that the Mohali senior superintendent of police (SSP), a senior police officer, had already found the allegations to be false after conducting an inquiry.
“It was also not considered that an inquiry into the same complaint was also being conducted by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau, which was a specialised department dealing with allegations of corruption and misconduct against government officials. Further, the SP proceeded to hold an inquiry in contravention of the 2024 standing order passed by the Punjab DGP, wherein it has been categorically stated that multiple inquiries should not be conducted. The officials have also been categorically directed to mark any subsequent representation or complaint received regarding the same matter to the same police officer, who is already conducting preliminary inquiry. The standing operating procedure was thus followed more in breach than in compliance by the SP,” Sandhu had submitted.
It was on the basis of this inquiry by the SP that the Rupnagar Range filed her status report and registration of an FIR was recommended against him, Sandhu’s plea further said.
Seeking bail, Sandhu added that he was a highly decorated police officer and had executed many operations against organised crime and also received CM’s medal for outstanding devotion to duty.
Notably, the Punjab government on January 2 had dismissed the DSP from services for facilitating a TV interview of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, aired by a channel, while in CIA Kharar custody in March 2023.
In August 2024, the Punjab and Haryana high court had also asked the Punjab DGP to initiate action against the DSP and other officers for “dereliction of duty” in a probe into threat calls by gangster Lucky Patial to a Mohali resident.