Mohali, Aug 14: The Special CBI Court in Mohali has sentenced a dismissed Intelligence Bureau inspector to one year of rigorous imprisonment for impersonating a CBI officer and extorting money from undertrials by threatening to implicate them in false cases.
Special CBI judge Baljinder Singh Sra convicted Harpreet Singh, alias HS Sandhu, and imposed a fine of ₹5,000. The court granted him bail to enable him to file an appeal within 60 days. At the time of the offence, Harpreet was posted in Moga.
CBI public prosecutor Anmol Narang said the complainant had approached the agency alleging Harpreet, through his associate Vikas Bharti, demanded ₹70,000 to avoid arrest by the CBI. A trap was laid, and Vikas was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe on Harpreet’s behalf. Vikas remains absconding and has been declared a proclaimed offender.
The case was registered in July 2016, with a chargesheet filed in January 2017 and charges framed in June 2019. While charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act could not be proven, the court awarded Harpreet three months’ rigorous imprisonment under Sections 120-B read with 170 IPC and one year’s rigorous imprisonment under Section 170 IPC, along with the fine.
