The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered an independent investigation by the CBI into the allegations of Haryana Police’s collusion in an extortion case in which a man was “continuously harassed and pressured” to withdraw his complaint against several accused persons.
Petitioner Jagbir Singh had alleged that the kingpin of the extortion racket was Vinay Aggarwal, who had allegedly been duping and extorting money from industrialists and other influential persons by masquerading as an Inspector General of the Intelligence Bureau.
Jagbir’s counsel Preetinder Singh Ahluwalia had submitted before the high court that a separate FIR No.1/2022, dated January 6, 2022, for alleged extortion and fraud had been registered against Vinay at the CID police station at Bharari in Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) Aggarwal.
The charges included Sections 170, 419, 420, 384, 386, 120-B and 201 of the IPC and Section 25 of the Arms Act.
The counsel contended that Vinay had filed a bail petition before the High Court of Himachal Pradesh where the State of Himachal Pradesh had taken a categoric stand that the accused was aided and abetted by armed and uniformed officials of the Haryana Police. The officials included head constable Raj Singh, jail warder Jasbir Singh and constable Ravinder Singh, who were deployed with Vinay, despite his not being a government official, allegedly at the behest of some senior Haryana Police officials, the counsel maintained.
In support of the argument, the counsel drew the attention of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to Annexure P-3, which mentioned these officials were recalled to their official duties in Haryana only after the registration of the FIR against Vinay in Shimla. Despite the seriousness of these allegations, the police officers implicated in aiding Aggarwal faced no immediate consequences, argued Ahluwalia.
The petition filed by Jagbir, under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, sought the transfer of the investigation from the Haryana Police to an independent agency such as the CBI. Jagbir had lodged a complaint (FIR No. 215 dated October 29, 2022) at the Sector 20 police station in Panchkula. The FIR accused Vinay and several other individuals of serious offences, including fraud and extortion.
Ahluwalia contended that the local police are biased and have been manipulating the investigation. He highlighted that a special investigation team (SIT) was constituted on April 3, 2023, ostensibly to reinvestigate an earlier FIR (No. 42 dated February 23, 2022), which had already been closed. This move, according to Ahluwalia, was a strategic attempt to coerce Jagbir into dropping his charges.
The court’s decision was influenced by the failure of the Haryana Police to comply with a Supreme Court order, which had denied anticipatory bail to one of the accused, Nishant Sareen, and directed him to surrender. Despite this, Sareen continued to evade arrest and reportedly attended his office regularly, suggesting tacit support from the investigating agency.
Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul of the Punjab and Haryana High Court noted the gravity of the allegations, which involve senior police officials and state functionaries. The high court emphasised the necessity for an unbiased investigation to ensure justice is not only done but seen to be done.
