Ludhiana, Sept 13 — The Ludhiana police have registered a fresh FIR against gangsters accused of threatening retired assistant inspector general (AIG) Sandeep Sharma, who had interrogated several of them during his service with the Punjab Police’s anti-drug special task force (STF).
Sharma, who retired in 2022 and lives in Ludhiana, alleged that notorious gangsters including Lawrence Bishnoi and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria have been calling him directly and pressuring him to withdraw an earlier FIR. He told police that he has faced threats ever since two gangsters — Bagga Khan alias Buta and Munish Parbhakar — were arrested last year on the basis of his complaint.
“During my tenure with the STF, I conducted raids and interrogated gangsters like Buta, Parbhakar, Goru Bachha, Sukh Bhikariwal and Rajpal alias Raja. Now they are targeting me with threats,” Sharma said in his statement.
The former officer said he had filed his complaint in March 2024, but despite an assistant deputy commissioner of police recommending action on May 1, the matter remained pending with the police commissioner’s office for more than 10 months. He later approached the Punjab and Haryana high court, which in its March 3 order directed the Punjab DGP to act within three weeks.
Following a fresh probe by the Ludhiana DCP (investigation), police at Haibowal station have registered a new case under Section 195-A of the IPC against unknown persons. The FIR notes that during a 2023 investigation, jailed gangster Buta Khan admitted he had conducted a recce to kill Sharma, while Parbhakar is lodged in Hoshiarpur jail.
Sub-inspector Jasvir Singh, station house officer (SHO) of Haibowal police station, said, “The gangsters named by the complainant will be brought in for questioning and nominated in the FIR according to the probe findings.”
Police officials assured Sharma that those mentioned in his complaint will soon be summoned on production warrants and interrogated. Sharma had earlier been granted security cover by then STF DGP Harpreet Sidhu after the initial threats.
