The Ludhiana police Wednesday booked an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 70,000 and setting a drug peddler free without even registering a First Information Report (FIR) against him despite the recovery of heroin. Inspector Pramod Kumar, SHO Shimlapuri police station, in his complaint, said that two drug peddlers - Amritpal Singh alias Cheenu of Guru Gobind Singh Nagar and Parwinder Singh alias Vicky of Garg Colony - were arrested Tuesday after they were stopped for checking at a checkpoint at Labor Colony. They were coming from Jalandhar on their bike and on frisking, 13 gm of heroin was recovered from them. The inspector added that later it was revealed that on February 28, Amritpal was caught red-handed by ASI Jarnail Singh, currently posted as incharge of the Basant city police post. Amritpal was allegedly caught while selling heroin among addicts near his house and 1 gm of heroin was recovered from him. "However, the ASI set him free and did not even register the FIR. He also accepted a bribe of Rs 70,000 from Parwinder and Amritpal's family members who had reached the police post to take him," said the inspector in his complaint. The FIR stated that to set Amritpal free and not register FIR, ASI Jarnail Singh entered a deal with Parwinder Singh, Amritpal's mother Satwant Kaur and one Nirmal Singh, who had reached the police post. The officer allegedly demanded Rs 1 lakh but the deal was finalised at Rs 70,000. Then on March 1, Parwinder handed over the amount to the officer at Kwality Chowk, sitting in a vehicle, said the FIR. An FIR was registered under sections 21/61/85 of the NDPS Act against Amritpal and Parwinder, and sections 166, 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and sections 59/61/85 of the NDPS Act against Jarnail Singh at the Shimlapuri police station. Ludhiana Police Commissioner Mandeep Singh Sidhu said the family of Amritpal Singh was financially poor. "His mother and wife gathered all their savings and took loan on very high interest rate to collect Rs 70,000 to give bribe to the ASI. He was sitting in his Fortuner vehicle while accepting the bribe." CP Sidhu said that the ASI has been arrested and currently under observation at the Civil Hospital after he complained of chest pain. He has been suspended with immediate affect and a departmental inquiry has been initiated against him which will be conducted by ADCP-3 Shubham Aggarwal.
