Cop gets 5-year RI in bribery case

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 26

The court of the Special Judge, CBI, Sanjiv Joshi, today sentenced head constable Paramjeet Singh to five-year rigorous imprisonment (RI) in a bribery case.

While pronouncing the quantum of the sentence, the Judge said: “It is common knowledge that the genie of corruption is eating the very roots of our system and increasing day by day despite several efforts made by the legislature since Independence to curb the same.”

“Our country is suffering a loss of billions of rupees due to rampant corruption. Poor people are the worst sufferers of corruption in our society,” he said.

However, KP Singh, public prosecutor for the CBI, contended that the accused deserved the maximum punishment of 10 years with an exemplary fine to discourage such persons from indulging in corruption.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 30,000 on the convict.

The CBI had arrested Paramjeet Singh for taking a bribe of Rs 1,000 from an auto-rickshaw driver for not challaning his vehicle on September 9, 2014. The CBI received a complaint from the auto driver and laid a trap near the Kisan Bhawan roundabout in Sector 35 and caught him taking the bribe. The accused was caught with the bribe money wrapped in a white paper, which was recovered from him.

Earlier, the auto driver had got his vehicle released after paying Rs 4,000 as challan fee after he failed to pay a bribe of Rs 1,200, demanded by the traffic policeman on September 2, 2014. His vehicle was challaned for various offences.

On September 4, the head constable again spotted the complainant driving the auto-rickshaw. He again demanded a bribe and threatened to challan him again if he failed to pay this time. The driver then approached the CBI, following which a trap was laid.