Ludhiana: A police official and his accomplice have been sentenced to four years of rigorous imprisonment after being caught in a “red-handed” sting operation involving a systematic bribery scheme targeting local trade.Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Gurjinder Singh and civilian Piyush Anand were convicted by a special court for orchestrating a protection racket that promised to shield scrap metal shipments from government tax inspections. Judge Amrinder Singh Shergill also imposed a fine of ₹25,000 on each man. Failure to pay will result in an additional four months of rigorous imprisonment.The ‘shakedown’ at the godownThe case dates back to Nov 2022, when the duo approached Kailash Kumar, the owner of Shiva Enterprises, at his scrap warehouse. The prosecution said Piyush Anand, 38, had posed as a driver for high-ranking excise department officials and claimed he could use his influence to ensure Kailash Kumar’s trucks were never intercepted. As the price of silence, Anand demanded a monthly “subscription” of ₹70,000 for senior officials and a ₹5,000 personal kickback.ASI Gurjinder Singh, 45, who was stationed at the critical Shambhu Octroi checkpoint, offered to let Kailash Kumar’s vehicles pass into neighboring states without inspection for ₹10,000 a month. Suspicious of the demands, Kailash Kumar recorded the negotiations on his mobile phone. Rather than paying the bribe, he approached the Punjab Vigilance Bureau with the digital evidence and ₹80,000 in marked currency.Vigilance officers apprehended both men at Anand’s house in the Haibowal area as they accepted the cash. During the trial, both defendants pleaded that they had been implicated falsely. However, Judge Shergill dismissed the claims, citing the overwhelming evidence provided by the recorded conversations and the recovery of the bribe money. In his verdict, the judge noted that Anand had negotiated corruption deals with senior departments actively, while ASI Gurjinder Singh had abused his position of authority to facilitate tax evasion.A Hard Line on CorruptionDespite pleas for mercy from the defense, the court ruled that the nature of the crime — systematic corruption and cheating — precluded any leniency. “The facts and circumstances, coupled with the offence, leave no scope for taking a lenient view,” the court observed.
