Complaint by NRI brought her in touch with property dealer

Mohali, July 25
It was the investigation into a complaint by a Non-Resident Indian (NRI), Nirmala Brar, regarding the forging of ownership documents of her three-kanal plot in Kansal village that brought the Punjab Police Deputy Superintending of Police (DSP) Raka Gira in contact with the alleged fraudster in the case Krishan Malhotra.

It was on the complaint of the Mullanpur-based property dealer, Krishan Malhotra that the DSP was yesterday caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh at her Sector 15 residence in Chandigarh. The DSP had reportedly assured the property dealer that she would bail him out in the cheating case. Sources in the police said in November last year, the NRI cell of the Punjab Government had forwarded the complaint by the NRI woman to the Mohali SSP for inquiry. Initially, the complaint was marked to the Deputy Superintendent of Police (City-II) but due to jurisdictional issue, the case was referred to the DSP (City-I) Raka Ghira on December 16, 2010. Since then, the case was pending with her.

When the NRI’s complaint landed with the Mohali police in December last year, a FIR was registered in the same case against four persons Harpal, Manjit, Veerpal and Jagdish Ram on May 14, 2011, at the Kurali Police Station. Since it was a case of cheating and forgery, the investigation in the case was handed over to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Mohali Police. The Investigating Officer Pritam Singh, during the course of the probe, started proceedings to make Krishan Malhotra another accused in the cheating case. 

While the property dealer was negotiating with the DSP, her reader Manmohan Singh and gunman Gurmail Singh to help him wriggle out of the investigation, the EOW had already found that he was involved in forging the documents of the ownership of the three-kanal plot. A senior police official claimed that the DSP struck a deal with the property dealer while being aware about the outcome of the case being probed by the EOW. Sources said the DSP enjoyed the patronage of a senior police officer close to the SAD. 

THERE ARE FIVE CASES AGAINST HIM

Sources in Mohali police said there were five FIRs registered against the property dealer for allegedly forging land documents on Majri area. Separate cases had been registered against him on the basis of complaints made by the landowners. The property dealer had, however, petitioned to the police that he had been falsely implicated in the cases. 

 UT police registers two FIRs against woman cop

Chandigarh, July 25
Following the recovery of arms and a huge haul of liquor from the Sector 15 residence of DSP Raka Gira during the CBI raid yesterday, the UT police has registered two cases under the Arms Act and the Excise Act against her in the Sector 11 police station.
The ammunition, which was recovered from Gira’s house, included 1,237 cartridges, a revolver 32 S&W (Made in Germany) and a double-barrel gun made in West Germany. Besides, a total of 43 live cartridges of.32 bore, 22 empty cartridges of .32 bore, 14 S&W live cartridges (small), another 18 (.22 bore) live cartridges, a total of 114 .38 bore live cartridges , 76 AK-47 live cartridges, another 114 (7.62 SLR) live cartridges, two 7.72 sniper live cartridges, five Carbine Cal 30 live cartridges and a total of 831 (12 bore) live cartridges.
Police sources said the ammunition was kept in a store-room and when Gira was questioned in this connection by the CBI officials, she replied she was not aware about the exact number of cartridges and revolvers. An FIR under the Arms Act was registered against her. During the course of investigation, Gira’s service record would also be examined, the police said. Gira would also be arrested and brought on production warrants in this case, sources said.
Besides, a total 51 bottles of liquor, comprising ‘English Wine Bottles’ were also recovered from her house. The ammunition and wine bottles have been seized by Chandigarh police and kept in the storeroom of police station, Sector 11, as case property.
Both the cases were registered on the statements of K S Rana, Inspector of CBI, Chandigarh who was part of the raiding party.

DSP in 2-day police remand; reader arrested as co-accused 

Chandigarh, July 25
The CBI today arrested Manmohan Singh, reader of DSP Raka Gira, as co-accused in the corruption case against the officer. The CBI said the reader had connived with the DSP while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from the complainant.
Not ruling out the involvement of more Mohali police officials in the case, the CBI said the investigating agency was trying to ascertain if more were involved in the nexus. Gira has been remanded to two-day police custody.
While seeking seven-day custody of the accused in the CBI court, Special Public Prosecutor Pawan Kumar Dogra claimed the agency had a recorded conversation in which the DSP could be heard as saying to a complainant that she has spoken to "others" about the deal.
"The recorded conversation hints that there were others too who were supposed to receive share from the bribe amount of Rs 1 lakh," he said.
The CBI said it was unethical on part of a senior rank officer to be found in possession of Rs 87 lakh at her residence (Sector 15, Chandigarh) and they needed to find out from where she amassed it. The agency also said that they will also question the investigating officers in the cases registered against the complainant as to whether they were hand in glove with the DSP. The agency raised this point while opposing the plea of the defence that the DSP was not investigating any case against the complainant and thus has been made part of a conspiracy. "We need to interrogate the accused to unearth these facts," added Dogra.
While opposing the plea for a police remand, the defence counsel contended that the complainant, Kishan Malhotra, himself had six FIRs registered against in various cases and, thus, could not be relied upon.