Inspector Jaswinder Kaur
While dismissing the anticipatory bail petition of former Manimajra SHO and suspended Inspector Jaswinder Kaur in the corruption case registered against her by the CBI on June 29, the Punjab and Haryana High Court Tuesday said the allegations against her are serious in nature and her interrogation and cooperation with the investigation will be utmost necessary.
“Being a member of uniformed service, the conduct of petitioner … leaves a lot to be desired. It is for the petitioner to face the investigation and prove her case. The failure of the petitioner to join the investigation and her reticence in coming forward even now disentitle her from seeking relief at this stage.”
Justice Sanjay Kumar said in the order, while noting that she is accused of making a false entry in the Daily Diary Register (DDR) regarding her visit to CBI office in connection with the investigation and also that she was yet to report for duty after her transfer and remains untraceable.
Kaur has been evading arrest since the registration of case against her and one Bhagwan Singh for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 5 lakh for closing a complaint against one Gurdeep Singh.
An installment of Rs two lakh was allegedly paid through the accused Bhagwan Singh on June 19 in Sangrur but the complainant on June 26 approached the CBI as he was being pressured to pay the remaining
amount.
Gurdeep Singh was also allegedly made to sign a blank paper on June 21 at police station Manimajra and asked to pay the remaining amount by July 1.
According to the case registered by CBI, Bhagwan Singh was later arrested in a trap while demanding and accepting illegal gratification of Rs 1 lakh.
The Special CBI Court in Chandigarh on Monday issued a fresh non-bailable warrant against Kaur. She was represented by advocate Naresh Singh Shekhawat in the case on Tuesday for pre-arrest bail.
In a reply filed through its counsel Sumeet Goel, the CBI told the court that it is in possession of an audio recording in which SHO Jaswinder is heard asking about the amount received and saying “theek hai” after accused Bhagwan Singh tells her that he has received the additional Rs three lakh.
She was told, in person at her residence in Zirakpur by the team which conducted the search and later over phone too, by the CBI to join the investigation on June 30 but she “deliberately and intentionally absconded and did not join the investigation in order to avoid her confrontation with accused Bhagwan Singh, by the CBI,” the agency said in the reply.
The CBI further told the court she even created false evidence by making a false DDR entry at Police Station Manimajra on June 30 that she had returned from the CBI Office.
With the reply, the CBI attached the letter written by the SP Chandigarh informing it about Kaur’s suspension from the service. She was placed under suspension for making a false DDR entry, said the CBI in its reply.
“It deserves to be mentioned herein that the CDR records pertaining to petitioner-Jaswinder Kaur also clearly prove that she never ever came to CBI Office, Sector 30, Chandigarh,” the CBI said, adding she was not only absconding from the process of law but also making endeavours to tamper with the evidence.
The court was also told that the CCTV footage of Manimajra police station on June 21 “clearly substantiates” the allegation of Gurdeep Singh that his signature was taken on a blank paper under pressure by Kaur.
The allegation is that it was on the said blank paper that the alleged compromise was written in the complaint on the basis of which the bribe was demanded, said the CBI. Constable Sarabjit Singh in his statement to the CBI and before the Magistrate has substantiated the facts as revealed by the CCTV footage, as per the reply filed by CBI before High Court.