New Delhi: Arrested for allegedly killing his son-in-law, retired Punjab police officer Malwinder Singh Sidhu faces charges ranging from misusing his official position to blackmail and extort money from government servants including distant relatives of his son-in-law to assaulting a DSP probing graft case against him in separate cases.
Sidhu, a retired assistant inspector general (AIG), is also accused of orchestrating a paid-protest before Punjab’s Social Welfare department to get a favourable judgement in a ‘fake’ SC certificate row involving his son-in-law Harpreet Singh.
The Chandigarh Police arrested Sidhu Saturday for allegedly killing Harpreet, who was locked in a matrimonial dispute with his daughter Amitoj Kaur since last year. Harpreet, an ICAS (Indian Civil Accounts Service) officer posted as the controller of accounts in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, had married Amitoj in 2020.
Sources in the Chandigarh Police told ThePrint that the couple were locked in a marital dispute and Saturday was the fourth day of mediation between two parties on a divorce petition filed by Harpreet. The ICAS officer and his parents were present at the Chandigarh district court, while Sidhu was representing his daughter who went to Canada sometime in November.
The marriage in question took place in July 2020 but just six months later, Sidhu’s daughter registered an FIR with Mohali Police alleging dowry harassment and physical assault leading to her miscarriage. Harpreet came out on bail in September 2021.
Sidhu asked Harpreet to show the way to the washroom and allegedly used the opportunity to fire at him with his pistol, the police said. A case under Sections 103 (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act was lodged at the Sector 36 police station. Sidhu, who retired in March while under suspension and judicial custody, was sent to two-day police custody Sunday.
Although police officials recall Sidhu as a “proud” father of two children who was distressed after “failed” marriage of his daughter, he faces at least five criminal cases ranging from corruption, extortion, blackmailing, assault and obstruction of a public servant before Saturday’s episode, ThePrint has learnt.
Phone calls and WhatsApp message to his lawyer in lower court Satinder Singh Bassi went unanswered, while advocate Vinod Ghai refused to comment saying his consultation was limited to the proceedings in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Also Read: NEET probe: Man ‘involved’ in BPSC leak, medical aspirants, fathers named in CBI’s first chargesheet
‘Impersonation, extortion & assault of IO’
In September 2023, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) began an inquiry against Sindhu after he was accused of misusing his position as AIG in the Human Human Rights Cell and with the help of his two aides were into extortion.
The investigation was handed over to VB’s DSP Barinder Singh Gill. Sidhu allegedly misbehaved with him and tore official documents on 25 October when he first appeared for questioning in the investigation.
Based on the complaint by DSP Gill, Sidhu was arrested by Mohali Police after a case was registered under sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) of the IPC on the same day.
As per the FIR, seen by ThePrint, Sidhu allegedly forcefully entered DSP’s room, abused him and tore the vigilance pro forma given to him as part of the investigation against him.
“Sidhu came to my office in connection with the approval of this permit, but due to an important matter, I made him sit in the room of the chief munshi of police station. … When I ordered video recording (by him) to be stopped and to bring him to my room, Sidhu, while arguing with the chief munshi, forcibly entered my room while keeping video recording on and abused me loudly,” Gill alleged in his complaint originally written in Punjabi.
“When I stopped him from doing so, he deleted recordings in his phone and tore the document given to him in front of me following which I informed the senior officers about the entire incident.”
Five days later, the VB booked him and his aides under Sections 384 (extortion), 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) for allegedly blackmailing and extorting public servants and also amassing assets disproportionate to his income.
The VB recorded statements of 19 individuals, including the district education office, elementary education, Patiala, who alleged that Sidhu impersonated as IG, Vigilance, and sought caste certificate of Daljit Singh from the block primary education officer, Rajpura.
The VB submitted its status report in the case in December while Sighu got out on bail in the assault case lodged by DSP Gill in March.
Tiff with son-in-law
By the time Sidhu walked out of jail in March, a sound recorder seized from him by the VB put him in more trouble.
Investigators recovered audio files from the device in which Sidhu, his aide Balbir were allegedly talking to Babbi Sarpanch about extorting money from assistant sub-inspector Ranjit Singh and his brother Daljit Singh by blackmailing them over their caste certificates.
ThePrint has seen a copy of the FIR filed at Mohali’s Phase 8 police station under Sections 120-B, 384 of the IPC and Sections 7 and 12 of the PCA dealing with offence relating to public servant being bribed and abetment of offences.
The FIR alleged that audio recording captured conversation of Sidhu, Balbir and Babbi revealed extorting Rs 15 lakh from the Singh brothers for withdrawal their complaint of fake caste certificate.
Police told ThePrint that Sidhu came to know about the Singh brothers while in dispute with his son-in-law as they belonged to the same village and were Harpreet’s distant relatives.
“The trio hatched a conspiracy to exert pressure on Harpreet by casting allegations on Ranjit and Randhir and further planned to extort money from them,” a source in Punjab Police told ThePrint.
Sidhu was arrested in this case as well and was later granted bail.
Another audio file gave a tip-off about an orchestrated protest outside the social welfare department’s office in Mohali to pressure officials into giving a favourable judgement against Harpreet, who faced a case of ‘fake’ caste certificate.
Subsequently, another FIR was registered under Sections 384, 120-B, 186, Sections 341 (wrongful restraint) of the IPC at the Phase-1 police station on 20 March based on a complaint of the SHO of the Phase 8 police station, who alleged that Sidhu paid Rs 30,000 to his aide Balbir Singh to organise the sit-in.
This sit-in in front of Social Welfare Office Phase-1 Mohali was organised by Malwinder Singh Sidhu along with Balbir Singh, according to the FIR.
The Punjab Police filed another case against Sidhu on 25 April for resisting arrest by Mohali Police in the old extortion case near the central jail in Patiala district. However, he was arrested and released on bail in May.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: Telegram has a seedy underbelly. It’s a hunting ground for paedophiles that’s got agencies worried