Chandigarh: CBI court frames charges against ASI caught for graft

A special CBI court on Thursday framed charges against Chandigarh Police assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Balkar Singh who allegedly accepted a bribe of ₹25,000 from an accused in an abetment to suicide case reported in Chandigarh.

The charges against the ASI were framed under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. In February 2023, the accused ASI, posted at the Manimajra police station, was arrested while accepting a bribe of ₹25,000.

A chargesheet against the accused was filed in April 2023, as per which the complainant is Gurpreet, a resident of Samadhi Gate in Manimajra, who was an accused in an abetment to suicide case registered on December 24, 2022. He had alleged that ASI had demanded ₹50,000 from him to clear his name.

Gurpreet approached the CBI and based on his complaint a trap was laid. The accused ASI called Gurpreet to the police station to deliver the first instalment of the bribe -- ₹25,000. The cop was arrested by CBI sleuths while accepting the bribe.

The Manimajra police had booked Gurpreet Singh almost a year ago, after a woman resident of Manimajra, allegedly committed suicide in January 2022. In her suicide note, she had alleged that Gurpreet was in a relationship with her despite being married.

When she confronted him, Gurpreet refused to accept her. Police then sent the suicide note to CFSL to confirm the victim’s handwriting. Later, the police registered a case under Section 306 (abetment to suicide) ofthe Indian Penal Code against Gurpreet.