Ludhiana: Vigilance Bureau investigators are scrutinising the role of a senior station house officer (SHO) following the “red-handed” arrest of an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) accused of soliciting bribes to stall a multi-crore-rupee fraud investigation.The probe into inspector Amritpal Sharma, SHO of Division Number 8 police station, intensified after his name surfaced during the interrogation of ASI Janak Raj. The ASI, head of the Kailash Chowk police post, was arrested on Tuesday while allegedly accepting a bribe.The Sting OperationVigilance Bureau (VB) officials arrested Raj as he reportedly accepted an initial part payment of Rs 15,000 from Gaurav Kumar, whose brother, Amit Kumar Pabbi, is a suspect currently in custody regarding an alleged Rs-4.57-crore fraud. The investigators claim that Raj allegedly took Rs 10,000 simply to allow Kumar to visit his brother in custody. Raj reportedly demanded a total of Rs 2.5 lakh, claiming Rs 2 lakh out of that was for the SHO and Rs 50,000 for himself.The money was allegedly solicited in exchange for not transferring the fraud case to the specialised crime investigation agency (CIA) and forgoing further police remand.Evidence and AllegationsThe case against the officers hinges on audio evidence provided by the complainant. Gaurav Kumar has told investigators that he was summoned to the police station where inspector Sharma instructed him to “cooperate” with the ASI to facilitate the evidence collection process. Immediately after leaving the SHO’s office, Gaurav Kumar alleges the ASI made the specific demand for the Rs-2.5-lakh bribe.“The SHO’s name has surfaced because the complainant produced a recording of the ASI’s demanding Rs 2 lakh specifically for his superior,” a vigilance bureau official said. “The role of the Division Number 8 SHO is now under active probe.”While ASI Janak Raj remains in custody following the Tuesday sting, authorities are verifying the authenticity of the recordings to determine if inspector Sharma was involved directly or if the subordinate used his name to inflate the bribe. No formal charges have been announced against Sharma at this stage, though the Ludhiana range VB has confirmed that his conduct is a primary focus of the ongoing investigation.
