Two months on, runaway cop surrenders in Panchkula court

PANCHKULA: Inspector Ravi Kant Sharma, who was on the run for two months in a molestation and extortion case registered against him on the complaint of a beauty salon owner and its woman manager, surrendered before the Panchkula court on Thursday. The court has sent the cop, who was then SHO of Mansa Devi Complex (MDC) police station, to 14-day judicial custody.
Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Kamaldeep Goyal said, “Soon after getting information about his surrender, investigating officer ACP Vijay Deshwal and his team were sent to the court, where they arrested the accused.”
Deshwal said, “We have taken permission from the court to send his voice samples to Madhuban forensic science laboratory, so that it could be matched with the recordings given to us by the salon owner and its manager, wherein he is allegedly demanding money from them.”
On December 23, the court had rejected the inspector’s bail application, saying the case involved “a big scam of extorting money on a monthly basis”. On February 3, the Punjab and Haryana high court had also denied him anticipatory bail in view of serious allegations against him.
However, co-accused head constable Anil Kumar was granted interim anticipatory bail on January 15 after the complainant furnished a statement in the court in his favour.
On December 9 last year, the complainant, who runs a salon at a market in MDC, had alleged that the accused inspector used to take money from the woman manager and that a Home Guard, Jashan Pal, used to come to collect it. On December 10, an FIR was filed against the inspector and the Home Guard for extortion and molestation. The SHO and the Home Guard were immediately suspended. The Home Guard had also accused head constable Anil Kumar of taking bribes on behalf of the inspector.
After the complainant filed a complaint with home minister Anil Vij of unfair investigation by the Panchkula Police, the latter asked DGP Manoj Yadava to conduct a fair probe. IG Bharti Arora was appointed on December 12 to conduct the inquiry.
On the same day, when the suspended SHO did not show up at the Police Lines, he was dismissed by the IGP and charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act were added to the FIR registered against him.
Though two teams, led by IGP Bharti Arora at state level and assistant commissioner of police Vijay Deswal at district level, were appointed to investigate the matter, the accused could not be nabbed.
Later a video footage went viral, which showed the salon manager handing over cash to the Home Guard at the reception. The Home Guard was also seen molesting the manager on a sofa after accepting the bribe. In her statement recorded before the magistrate, the manager had denied handing over any bribe and said she had family relations with the Home Guard. Later, when the IGP took over the case, she said that she had changed her statement under police pressure.