CHANDIGARH: The bail plea of suspended Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Punjab Police Harcharan Singh Bhullar has been rejected by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Bhullar had moved the High Court on January 9 seeking the grant of regular bail.
In his petition, Bhullar stated that the prosecution intended to examine mainly officials who were in service at the time, along with the complainant in the case.
The petition which was filed through counsel Nikhil Ghai also claimed that the complainant in the matter was granted protection as per the high court orders.
The trap, as alleged, pertained to the co-accused. It did not pertain to direct acceptance or recovery from the petitioner. He stood suspended from service, eliminating any plausible apprehension of influencing witnesses or tampering with the evidence.
He also told the court that investigations stood concluded and the final investigation report had already been filed on December 3 last year rendering further custodial interrogation unnecessary.
However, the High Court dismissed the plea holding that the nature and seriousness of the allegations warranted his continued custody while the legal process continues.
Bhullar is currently in judicial custody and lodged at Chandigarh Model Jail in connection with alleged corruption and bribery cases. Earlier, a CBI court had rejected both the regular and default bail applications of Bhullar, a 2007-batch IPS officer who was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in October last year in a high-profile bribery and corruption case. During searches, Rs 7 crore in cash and gold and silver jewellery worth over Rs 2 crore were recovered from his residence.
He, along with an alleged middleman, was accused of seeking illegal payments in return for favours connected to police investigations.