The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during its ongoing drive against corruption, has arrested a retired Head Constable (HC) Balwinder Singh, an accomplice of the Station House Officer (SHO) of police station Machhiwara in Ludhiana district while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000. The accused had been performing duties at the police station without any official orders from the police department.
Disclosing this, an official spokesperson of the VB stated that the arrest was made following a complaint lodged by Sukhvir Singh, a resident of Mohan Majra village in Machhiwara sub-division of Khanna police district. The spokesperson further added that the complainant had approached the VB Range office in Ludhiana, reporting that his car had been impounded by the Machhiwara police.
According to the complaint, said Balwinder Singh informed him that his car was in the custody of Moharrir Head Constable (MHC) Karan and demanded Rs 25,000 for its release. However, after negotiation, the bribe amount was settled at Rs 15,000. On January 28, 2025, the complainant again spoke to HC Balwinder Singh over the phone, requesting to reduce the bribe amount.
The accused agreed to accept Rs 10,000 and the complainant has recorded the conversation as evidence and submitted it to the VB Range office in Ludhiana. The spokesperson added that after conducting a preliminary inquiry, a VB team from Ludhiana range laid a trap during which the accused was caught red-handed while accepting the Rs 10,000 bribe from the complainant outside the Machhiwara police station in the presence of two official witnesses.
Subsequently, the VB team has found the complainant’s car parked in the police station premises. During the investigation, it was revealed that the accused had already retired from the Punjab Armed Police (PAP) but was illegally deployed at the police station by the SHO of Machhiwara without any departmental orders. The accused continued working at the police station in an unofficial capacity. The role of the concerned SHO and MHC is also under scanner.
He informed that a case has been registered against the said accused under Section 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 318 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the VB Police Station, Ludhiana Range. The accused would be produced in the competent court tomorrow, and further investigations into this case was under progress.