Former Punjab DGP Sumedh Saini was arrested on Wednesday from the Vigilance Bureau office in Mohali where he had gone to participate in the investigation of a corruption case registered against him.
Punjab Police arrested its former DGP, Sumedh Singh Saini, on Wednesday from the state’s Vigilance Bureau office in Mohali, where he had gone to join the investigation of the disproportionate assets case registered against him. However, he was formally arrested in a separate case.
Sumedh Saini had been evading arrest in various cases registered against him due to the protection provided by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Last week, he was granted interim anticipatory bail in connection with the case related to disproportionate assets. He has been given protection in the murder case of Balwinder Singh Multani as well.
He was also granted pre-arrest bail by the High Court in cases related to police firing in Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan during his tenure as DGP in the Parkash Singh Badal government. The Captain Amarinder Singh government had set up an SIT to probe firing cases. The probe had indicted Sumedh Saini along with some political bigwigs.
According to sources, the arrest of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, who was home minister at the time of the firing incidents, cannot be ruled out.
Sumedh Saini arrested in new case
Meanwhile, Punjab Police registered a fresh case on Wednesday of an illegal colony constructed by WWICS in Kurali and Sumedh Saini was named in the FIR as one of the accused.
Punjab Police had raided his residence twice in the past, but he escaped from his residence in Sector 20, Chandigarh. Even on Wednesday, he had approached the district court for bail in the fresh case registered against him, but the court directed him to join the probe of disproportionate assets case.
Sumedh Saini visited the Punjab Vigilance Bureau headquarters in Mohali at around 8 pm to project that he had gone to join the investigation. However, the police formally arrested him in another case where he has been accused of committing forgery in order to stall the process of attachment of a house in Chandigarh’s Sector 20-D by the court of Special judge Mohali. The former DGP had been claiming to be a tenant in the house after his retirement.
