Who is Balwinder Sekhon, the dismissed Punjab DSP arrested for contempt of court

He has been hitting the headlines since 2019 when he ‘indicted’ former Congress minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu in his Ludhiana housing project CLU scam probe report.

Sekhon had also moved the court alleging that the former minister harassed and intimidated him during the enquiry. The case is still ongoing in a local court of Ludhiana while Ashu is in jail in foodgrain transportation scam case. Former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu who too is in jail in road rage case, had appeared as a witness in this case filed by Sekhon against Ashu.

Sekhon was known as a motormouth police official for his uncensored comments.

A PPS officer, he was dismissed from the service in August 2021 after a no holds barred altercation between him and then minister Ashu over the alleged CLU scam that had also rocked the Punjab Vidhan Sabha. Sekhon had also moved court against Ashu alleging that the minister had ‘threatened’ him even as the Congress leader had claimed that the officer had sent him abusive texts.

Thereafter, Sekhon had floated an anti-corruption front named ‘Main Punjabi Manch’ and then decided to contest 2022 Punjab assembly elections to ‘expose Ashu and leaders like him.’

He contested against Ashu and Sidhu “not to win but to get a platform to talk about the injustice done with him” and to make voters aware of ‘leaders such as Ashu.’

“Some battles are fought not to be won but to show some people their place. Both Ashu and Sidhu (PPCC president Navjot Singh Sidhu) conspired against me. Sidhu was then the local bodies minister marked an enquiry but he did not take any action on my probe report which indicted Ashu for his involvement in the CLU scam. What was my fault? Just that I did my work honestly and submitted the report,” said Sekhon, adding that his fight was not just against Ashu but all such ‘politicians and ministers who are dishonest and corrupt.’

He had ended up forfeiting his security deposits from both the seats that eventually went to the Aam Aadmi Party.

Sekhon had also vowed to ‘expose’ former MLA and Lok Insaaf Party chief Simarjeet Singh Bains. He said, “Bains is booked in a rape case but still contesting polls. I am contesting these polls so that I get a platform to talk about the injustice done to me. Currently I have no source of income because I was dismissed from service for submitting a genuine probe report.”

Sekhon. had mentioned in his affidavit that currently he had no work and no source of income.

During the probe of Grand Manor Homes CLU scam of 2019, the audio clips of Ashu’s purported conversations with Sekhon (who was probing the case) were leaked and went viral in which Ashu was purportedly heard intimidating Sekhon.

It was alleged that Ashu and another Ludhiana Congress leader, Kamaljit Karwal, allegedly helped a private company, building residential flats on Gill road of Ludhiana, and used their political influence in getting them to Change of Land Use (CLU) certificate using forged land ownership papers. Their names figured in the probe report submitted by Sekhon to Sidhu, then local bodies minister, in 2019.

The case even led to the fallout between Ashu and Sidhu after the latter had quipped, ‘Mantri ho ya santri, sabko thokunga’. (Be it a minister or anyone, I won’t spare any one), when the Opposition AAP and SAD questioned him in Vidhan Sabha over the action taken by him against Ashu on the report submitted by the DSP.

While AAP had staged a walk-out from the House demanding the sacking of the minister, then CM Capt Amarinder Singh, defended Ashu in the House and said that he won’t take any arbitrary action against the minister without any evidence. Ashu had said he was open to any inquiry and claimed that the DSP was abusing him for over three months.

Eventually, Sidhu was divested of the local bodies portfolio, marking his exit from Captain’s Cabinet after he refused to accept the role of the Power Minister in June 2019. The DSP was also eventually dismissed from service in August 2021.

According to the affidavit, Sekhon was also booked in an FIR in May 2020 at Patti police station of Tarn Taran under the offences of promoting enmity between different groups, defamation, outraging religious feelings etc for allegedly putting up a Facebook post against Patti MLA Harminder Singh Gill of Congress, Punjab DGP, local SSP etc.

“I had written in the favor of a SHO who was issued threats by the MLA and the audios had gone viral. I was already under suspension and just to harass me further, this FIR was also registered on the complaint of a Congress worker,” says Sekhon.”