Former SSP, SP get 5-year RI in Moga sex scam
A CBI court here today sentenced former Moga SSP Devinder Singh Garcha (73) and SP (Headquarters) Paramdip Singh Sandhu (61) to five years of rigorous imprisonment under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) in connection with the 2007 Moga sex scandal case.
The court also slapped a fine of Rs 2 lakh each on Garcha and Sandhu, who rose to the rank of Additional Inspector General before retiring from the Punjab Police.
Inspector Amarjit Singh (72) and Sub-Inspector Raman Kumar (61), both dismissed from service, were sentenced to eight years and six and a half years of rigorous imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2.5 lakh fine, respectively.
Hailing from Amritsar, Raman and Amarjit were convicted of extortion and attempt to extortion. Garcha, an Olympian who had even captained the Indian hockey team, belongs to Jalandhar while Sandhu is a resident of Sector 28, Chandigarh.
All the four police personnel were pronounced guilty on March 29. Barjinder Singh (54), alias Makhan, son of a former Akali minister, and another person, Sukhraj Singh (44), were acquitted of the charges.
The Moga sex scandal had made national headlines as it involved high-profile politicians and senior police officials. The convicts would trap rich men in flesh trade cases and then extort money to drop their names from the statements of a woman and a minor girl.
Over time, the names of goldsmiths, advocates, businessmen, financiers, a journalist, a junior engineer and even the relatives of a few police personnel were added and later dropped from the cases.
The minor girl was granted pardon after she turned an approver, only to turn hostile during the evidence stage. The woman, Manjit Kaur of Dharamkot, and her husband were shot dead by unidentified assailants in 2018.
The hushed-up happenings came to light on June 7, 2007, when Bhagike village resident Ranjit Singh filed a complaint with the ADGP (Law and Order) alleging that Amarjit, then SHO of the Moga City-1 police station, was demanding a Rs 50,000 bribe to spare him in a rape case lodged on the complaint of the minor girl.
As senior police officials and politicians were allegedly involved, the Punjab and Haryana High Court transferred the case to the CBI in December 2007.
After the verdict on March 29, complainant Ranjit, from whom Rs 50,000 was demanded by the convicts, said, “A false case of snatching of Rs 1,200 was registered and me and my four-year-old son were put behind bars. Not many raised their voice against the police atrocities. Some paid up to Rs 15 lakh to get their names cleared.”
Four FIRs were registered in the case while nine persons were chargesheeted. Five accused were acquitted, three remained untraceable while no action was taken against two others. There were a total of 112 witnesses, of whom 95 were examined. Fifteen witnesses turned hostile during the trial, which dragged the case for around 18 years.
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