Vigilance Bureau Arrests Balvir Singh, AIG’s Accomplice
Chandigarh January 24 – The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) arrests Balvir Singh, a resident of village Alampur, District Patiala, who had acted as an accomplice to Malwinder Singh Sidhu, AIG, Human Rights, Punjab. Singh was wanted in a corruption-cum-criminal case registered by the VB. He habitually submitted complaints against employees in their departments and extorted money by blackmailing, acting upon the instructions of the aforementioned police officer.
An official spokesperson of the state VB disclosed the arrests Balvir Singh highlighting that the Bureau had obtained a 5-day police remand of Balvir Singh to recover the weapon he kept on his person and to identify and ascertain the involvement of more persons.
The spokesperson provided further details, indicating that the Bureau, following a Vigilance Enquiry, had registered a case FIR No. 28, dated 30. 10. 2023 under sections 7, 7-A of Prevention of Corruption Act and 384, 419, 420, 120B, 201 of IPC at the police station, Vigilance Bureau, flying squad-1, Punjab at SAS Nagar. AIG Sidhu, Balvir Singh, and other accused were implicated in this case, with AIG Sidhu already in judicial custody.
During the investigation, it emerged that AIG Sidhu, alongside Balvir Singh and other accused, misrepresented himself as IGP, Vigilance Bureau, Punjab, initiating complaints against government employees, subsequently withdrawing them to blackmail for illicit gains. Notably, Sidhu had never held positions of AIG or IG within the Vigilance Bureau, Punjab since 2017.
It was discovered that AIG Sidhu misused the government vehicle, Ertiga (PB-65-AD-1905), for which fuel and other expenses were drawn from the government account without maintaining vehicle usage records (log-book), constituting misuse of government property.
The spokesperson further noted that Balvir Singh, at Sidhu’s behest, submitted complaints against employees in different departments, presumably recruited under the Scheduled Castes and Freedom Fighters quota, to pressure and blackmail them for bribes, shared among him, Malwinder Singh, and other accused.
Further investigation into this case was underway, with plans to arrest the remaining accused soon.
