The High Court has ordered the Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) to probe the role of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and other officers associated with the investigation in a drug seizure case registered in 2023.

The order, by Justice Kuldeep Tiwari, came after it was revealed that a wrong statement was filed by Talwandi Sabo DSP Ishan Singla that the statement of a key person related to the case was recorded and filed in the challan. When the police realized the folly, a further appeal was filed in the case enclosing the statement in question.

“…the material discussed not only reveals the flawed and unprofessional rather biased investigation of the concerned police official(s) but also brings to the fore the audacity of the police official(s). to file false affidavits before this court, in order to justify the involvement and arrest of the petitioner in the present case,” the court said disparaging the conduct of the officers “in the strongest terms”.

The court was hearing a bail plea from one Malkeet Singh, arrested in connection with the seizure of 2,000 intoxicant tablets. The FIR was registered on October 14, 2023 at Talwandi Sabo police station. The police claimed that he fled the spot and left behind intoxicants and the motorcycle in which they recovered a mobile and his Aadhaar card. After he was arrested, the bail application was rejected by the trial court on May 24, after which he moved the high court in July 2024. In response to the summons, Singla filed an affidavit, the contents of which this was contested by the petitioner’s counsel contending that the Challan presented did not have the statement of the owner of the bike which the police now claim was a crucial piece of evidence before seizing the petitioner.

The court ordered the file to be sealed and summoned the DSP for the hearing on October 4, where he claimed that the statement of Raj Singh, the owner of the bike, was part of the original Challan submitted on January 19, 2024. However, the court found that the statement is quoted . it was undated and no police entry was found on file about the same. In this case, the court requested a report from the trial court, which revealed that no statement as supported by the prosecution was part of the original plea. He also revealed that on November 6, the police filed an additional appeal before the trial court with a statement recorded on September 27 of the motorcycle owner, with a totally different picture of the one projected earlier.

When the case was taken up on November 11, the court termed the report as “shocking revelations” and observed that “the investigating agency played smart and in order to hide its earlier facts, conducted further investigation and then filed an appeal additional. ”

Singla, also submitted an affidavit apologizing to the court. But the bank rejected it keeping in mind the “seriousness” of the matter.

The court observed that the materials placed before it compel it to ask the DGP to examine all the facts and conduct an inquiry into the conduct of the officers and others associated with the case. And also to establish who has filed false affidavit. The court granted one month to the DGP to seek his personal statement, asking that the proposed action against all be spelled out. The court specified that, if no answer is filed, he will remain personally present on December 16, the next hearing date.