Drive against drug mafia, yet no trace of tainted Punjab cop Raj Jit Singh

Tribune News Service

Jupinderjit Singh

Chandigarh, January 8

The police campaign against drug smugglers has continued since long, but they seem to have forgotten the case of dismissed cop Raj Jit Singh, who has been absconding for almost 70 days now. He was booked in a case of extortion, drugs smuggling and corruption while being posted as SSPs in various districts.

Police-smuggler nexus

• Raj Jit is accused of running a police-smuggler nexus by helping tainted cop Inderjit Singh in departmental inquiries and giving him out-of-way promotions
• It is alleged that he and his family conducted Rs 13 crore transactions in 10 years which were beyond his known sources of income

Was booked in April last year

April 19, 2023: Punjab Police book Raj Jit for criminal conspiracy, framing incorrect record with intent to save a person (Inderjit) from punishment and indulging in extortion. He is nominated under Sections 120-B, 218 and 384 of the IPC and Sections 59 and 39 of the NDPS Act, as a co-accused in the June 12, 2018, FIR lodged against dismissed cop Inderjit by the Special Task Force (STF) on drugs

April 20: Vigilance Bureau books Raj Jit Singh under the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly owning disproportionate assets

May 16: The STF books dismissed cops Raj Jit Singh and Inderjit Singh for allegedly extorting money from several innocent people after booking them in false cases of drug smuggling.

Oct 6: Punjab and Haryana High Court stays his arrest

Nov 20: High Court vacates stay; Raj Jit absconds

While the state police are carrying out extensive cordon and search operations, besides carrying out focused campaigns on catching proclaimed offenders and gangsters, the department has failed to find any trace of the fugitive cop.

It was on October 20 that the cop had fled from the office of the Special Task Force (STF) on drugs at the Punjab Police Intelligence Headquarters in Mohali when the Punjab and Haryana High Court cancelled his bail. Since then, he is underground and wanted both by the VB and the STF. Officials with the STF and the Vigilance Bureau said raids were conducted regularly to trace him but he had managed to elude arrest.

Raj Jit is accused of running a police-drugs smuggler nexus by helping tainted cop Inderjit Singh in departmental inquiries and giving him out of way promotions.

His arrest is pending before the Vigilance Bureau in a case of corruption for allegedly owning assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. The STF had separately booked Raj Jit for allegedly extorting money from people by falsely booking them in a case of drugs smuggling and also for helping smugglers.

The VB has even not been able to question Raj Jit ever since the case was registered regarding the alleged corruption. It is alleged that Raj Jit and his family had transactions of Rs 13 crore in last 10 years which were beyond his known sources of income.

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