Sidhu was booked along with Kuldeep Singh, a driver from the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs department and one Patiala resident.
Punjab AIG Malwinder Singh Sidhu booked by Vigilance Bureau for extortion
The Punjab State Vigilance Bureau i(VB) has registered a case against a senior police officer for allegedly misusing his position to commit fraud, blackmail, extortion, and take bribes from government employees.
Malwinder Singh Sidhu, Assistant Inspector General (AIG) attached to the Human Rights Cell, Punjab Police has been booked along with Kuldeep Singh, a driver with the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, and a Patiala resident, Balbir Singh.
The anti-graft agency claimed that AIG Sidhu used to initiate complaints against government employees and withdrew the cases after blackmailing them and extorting money.
“On the basis of a vigilance inquiry No 15, dated 06-10-2023, the VB has taken stringent legal measures, leading to the registration of an FIR, Number 28, dated 30 October, 2023, against all the above-mentioned accused under sections 7 and 7-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act and under sections 384, 419, 420, and 120-B under Indian Penal Code at police station vigilance bureau, flying squad-1,” the bureau said in its statement.
The probe agency claimed that during the investigation, it was found that Sidhu had never held the positions of AIG or IG with the VB of Punjab over the past five years.
He, however, on numerous occasions allegedly identified himself as the IG of the VB to carry out his ulterior plans.
Sidhu, it was alleged, in connivance with Balbir Singh, used a fake identity in the departments of Scheduled Castes and Freedom Fighters to procure records of several individuals.
Later, he used the reports to initiate complaints against them and blackmail them to extract bribes in exchange for retracting these complaints.
“As the investigation unfolds in coming days, it is likely that more accomplices may be implicated, which would be duly probed,” said the bureau.
Meanwhile, the VB has also arrested a man involved in perpetrating GST fraud of ₹25 crore through fake invoices. The accused was on the run for the past five years in connection with the GST fraud case.
Finally, he was arrested and remanded in two-day police custody. A search is also initiated for the others involved in this case.
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