The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) arrested Kuldeep Singh, a driver in the Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs department, Punjab, on Tuesday, following the dismissal of his bail petition by the Supreme Court.
A spokesperson for the state VB revealed that Kuldeep Singh was a co-accused in a case registered under FIR on October 30, 2023, at the police station VB Flying Squad-1, Punjab, Mohali.
The case is related to Malwinder Singh Sidhu, Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of the Human Rights cell, Punjab Police. Both Sidhu and another accused, Balbir Singh of village Alampur, district Patiala, had already been arrested in connection with the case.
The spokesperson disclosed that AIG Sidhu exploited his position, engaging in fraud, blackmail, extortion, and the illegal collection of money from government employees. AIG Sidhu allegedly initiated complaints against government employees, later withdrawing them to blackmail and gain illicit gains. Despite not holding positions of AIG or IG within the Vigilance Bureau, Punjab, since 2017, AIG Sidhu falsely identified himself as the IG, Vigilance Bureau, Punjab.
Providing more details, the spokesperson explained that AIG Sidhu, through Kuldeep Singh, obtained the personal record of a government teacher from the Principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Ghanour. AIG Sidhu, accompanied by the accused, tried to get the principal to sign a two-page proforma, but the principal refused.
In another case, AIG Sidhu, through Balbir Singh, obtained the personal record of a Block Agriculture Officer in the Agriculture department at Guru Harsahai, district Ferozepur. A complaint was lodged against the officer for possessing a forged Scheduled Caste certificate.
To withdraw the complaint, three lakh rupees were demanded, of which one and a half lakh rupees were unlawfully accepted by Balbir Singh and Malwinder Singh Sidhu. The spokesperson added that further investigation into this case was in progress.