ETO suicide: Former Vigilance SP, bizman get 3-yr jail

Mohali: In a significant verdict delivered after nearly 15 years of legal proceedings, Mohali district court on Tuesday convicted former Vigilance SP Amandeep Kaur and businessman Rajinder Singh alias Gopi in the ETO Ranjit Singh suicide case. The court held them guilty of abetment to suicide.

The court of additional sessions judge Hardeep Singh sentenced both convicts to three years’ imprisonment each and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on each under Sections 306 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

However, the court acquitted former SP Amandeep Kaur of charges framed under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA). The court observed that the prosecution had failed to produce sufficient direct evidence to prove allegations regarding the demand and acceptance of bribes.

In its judgment, the court said that mere recovery of money or allegations alone are insufficient to establish corruption charges, and that clear and convincing evidence of actual demand and acceptance of a bribe is necessary for conviction under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The case dates back to 2011 when excise and taxation officer (ETO) Ranjit Singh seized two trucks allegedly involved in tax evasion. Subsequently, the Vigilance Department registered a bribery case against him and laid a trap. Days after he was granted bail, he committed suicide by consuming poison at his phase 2 residence in Mohali.

Ranjit Singh’s wife, Manjit Kaur, alleged that the case was fabricated as part of a conspiracy to falsely implicate her husband. She claimed that Vigilance officials and certain businessmen colluded to frame him in a false corruption case, publicly humiliate him and later pressure him for a huge amount of money.

The court observed that the material placed on record established that Ranjit Singh was subjected to continuous mental harassment and public humiliation. The court noted that his arrest, subsequent public disgrace and the alleged conversation that took place later at Gill Regency Hotel in Samrala caused him severe mental distress.

The court further stated that although direct evidence regarding the alleged demand of Rs 50 lakh was insufficient, the overall chain of circumstances clearly demonstrated that the deceased was under constant pressure and humiliation.

The court observed that subjecting a person to such sustained mental harassment that they are ultimately driven to commit suicide constitutes a criminal offense amounting to abetment of suicide.

Meanwhile, co-accused Paramjit Singh was acquitted of all charges in the case. Two other accused, Harminder Singh and Rajiv Sood, died during the pendency of the trial.