CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Police today recommended suspension of Additional Inspector General of Police (AIG) Lakhbir Singh and a departmental inquiry against him for alleged lack of supervision into the investigation of security lapse that allowed three smugglers to make 43,000 phone calls from Ferozepur jail.
The police department suspended investigating officer (IO) Inspector Baldev Singh and appointed AIG J Elenchezian as new IO to probe the alleged nexus between the smugglers and jail officials.
Special DGP (Internal Security) RN Dhoke said Inspector Baldev Singh’s suspension order was issued on Thursday (when the Punjab and Haryana High Court heard the case), while action against AIG Lakhbir Singh was recommended to the state Home Secretary on Saturday. Notably, the home department is authorised to take action against DSP and above rank police officers.
Earlier, the Punjab Prisons Department launched a separate inquiry against seven jail officials, including the serving superintendent, for serious lapses that allowed three smugglers making over 43,000 calls while being lodged at the jail. Two of them got Rs 1.35 crore transferred online to accounts of their wives.The three smugglers Raj Kumar alias Raja, Sonu alias Tiddi and Amrik Singh used mobile phones from the jail despite the Prisons Department’s claim that the jail has phone jammers.
Out of the total 43,432 phone calls made by the smugglers, 38,850 were made from Raj Kumar’s phone between March 1 and March 31 in 2019. On an average, 1,295 calls were made per day. The remaining 4,582 calls were made between October 9, 2021 and February 14, 2023.