Lookout notice issued against rape-accused Punjab Police AIG

Police have issued a lookout circular against additional inspector general (AIG crime) Randhir Singh Uppal who was on Friday booked for allegedly raping and intimidating a 28-year-old law student of an Amritsar college.

Additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP city2) Lakhbir Singh said: “Two teams conducted raids at Uppal’s Chandigarh office and Amritsar residence, but could not trace him. Apprehending that he might flee the country to evade arrest, we have issued a lookout circular against him.”

Lookout circular mandates authorities at airports and ports to detain the accused.

The ADCP said police have also included names of two of Uppal’s friends, Jaskaran Singh and Parminder Singh, in the first information report (FIR). “But we don’t know their addresses,” he said.

The AIG was booked on Friday under Sections 376 (rape), 376 D (rape by one or more persons), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354-C (voyeurism), 506 (criminal intimidation), 498 (enticing a married woman with criminal intent) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 25, 27, 54, 59 of the Arms Act and Information Technology Act, 2000, on the 28-year-old woman’s complaint.

The complainant, who is the mother of a 6-year-old boy, alleged that Uppal, posted in Chandigarh, was sexually harassing her for the past four months. She also made public recordings of her conversation and WhatsAap chats with Uppal.

She had lodged a complaint with the Amritsar cantonment police on September 17 and also called the police helpline number 181 the next day.

Commissioner of police SS Srivastava forwarded the complaint to the office of Punjab director general of police and a probe was marked to inspector general (IG-crime and women) Vibhu Raj, who recommended that a case be registered against Uppal.

The complainant is yet to approach the police to get her statement recorded, the ADCP said, adding: “The complainant’s medical examination will be conducted for which a special investigation team led by assistant commissioner of police (headquarters) Richa Agnihotri has been constituted.”

First Published: Sep 29, 2018 21:20 IST