Punjab Police-Drug supplier nexus: gazetted officer accepted bribe to protect business house from legal consequences
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ September 19,2024
With Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government has adopted zero tolerance against corruption, Punjab Police’s Anti Narcotic Task Force (ANTF) has booked Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Vavinder Kumar Mahajan under charges of corruption after probe revealed that the latter has allegedly been supporting drug suppliers by engaging in corrupt practices, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Thursday.
In this regard, an FIR has been registered under Sections 7 and 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 59 (2) of the NDPS Act, highlighting the severity of the offences committed and the abuse of power.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that the ANTF has taken decisive action against corruption within its own ranks after recent investigations into a case pertaining to the seizure of 1.98 crore Alprazolam tablets and 40 kilograms of raw Alprazolam registered in February 2024, revealed that DSP Vavinder Kumar Mahajan, who was posted by DSP ANTF and his accomplice Akhil Jai Singh from Lucknow, were involved in a shocking bribery scheme. Presently, DSP Mahajan is posted as DSP in 9th Battalion PAP, Amritsar.
The DGP said that during a joint inspection at M/s Smilax Pharmachem Drug Industries in May 2024, the ANTF team discovered serious NDPS Act violations. “Preliminary investigation of this case revealed that DSP Mahajan had accepted a bribe of Rs 45 lakhs from M/s Aster Pharma to protect them from legal consequences,” he said.
Sharing more details, Special DGP ANTF Kuldeep Singh said that after the two vital witnesses given voluntary statements before the judicial officer and further corroborated by financial and technical evidence exposed misconduct by the accused DSP Mahajan, ANTF decided to take legal action against the latter.
Punjab Police-Drug supplier nexus: gazetted officer accepted bribe to protect business house from legal consequences. A raid was conducted at the residence of accused DSP in Amritsar by the ANTF team but he could not be apprehended and he is on run, he said, while adding that further investigation is under progress.
Meanwhile, this bold action underscores the Punjab Police’s resolve to create a Punjab where integrity and the rule of law prevail, even in the face of challenging circumstances.
