New FIR against Punjab ex-DGP Sumedh Singh Saini

CHANDIGARH: Punjab vigilance department on Monday registered a fresh FIR against former state director-general of police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini for disproportionate assets and under various sections of Prevention of Corruption Act. The vigilance department personnel also converged on his Chandigarh residence to arrest him and to attach the property.
A fresh FIR has been registered against Saini after the vigilance department collected new evidence of disproportionate assets and under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act for which the vigilance raided the house to arrest Saini, said a senior vigilance officer on the request of anonymity. A local court in Mohali had earlier issued orders to attach the property in a disproportionate assets case being probed by vigilance.
According to sources in the vigilance bureau, their personnel reached Saini’s house before noon in an attempt to arrest him. It is yet to be confirmed whether Saini was at home. Saini’s Z-plus security personnel did not allow the sleuths to enter the house, the sources added.
The orders for attachment of the property, a house where Saini resides in Chandigarh were issued by the additional district and sessions judge, P S Grewal, on July 16, and the court also directed Saini to deposit a monthly rent of Rs 2.5 lakh with the court till the case proceedings are not over.
The vigilance department is investigating the purchase of property with tainted money allegedly at the behest of Saini.
The department had filed an application in the court seeking attachment of the property.
According to the case files, the allegations are that Nimrat Deep Singh, a serving XEN (executive engineer) of Punjab government had accepted bribe and tainted money in the name of his father Surinder Jeet Singh Jaspal and in connivance with him.
The tainted money was uded to buy the house in Chandigarh in the name of Surinder Jeet Singh Jaspal. However, it was actually bought for the former DGP on his retirement, and was shown to have been given to him on rent after renovations in October 2018, according to the case details.