CBI inspector arrested for extorting car gets 5-year jail

The CBI court today sentenced Inspector Ravinder Kumar Singla to undergo five-year rigorous imprisonment in a corruption case registered nine years ago.

The court also imposed fine of Rs 1 lakh on the convict.

Singla was arrested by a CBI team from Delhi on May 26, 2016, after a manager of a pharmaceutical company lodged a complaint against him. The manager alleged that the CBI Inspector took a Honda City car of the company and did not return it despite several requests. The manager further alleged that the Inspector threatened to implicate him in a false case if they insisted on getting the car back.

The CBI filed a chargesheet against the accused after an investigation. Finding prima facie case, charges were framed against the accused under Sections 7, 13(1)D of Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) and Sections 384 (extortion) and 120 B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to which the accused pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. Another accused died during the course of the trial. The counsel of the accused argued that the accused were falsely implicated in the case.

However, Narender Singh, public prosecutor, sought maximum punishment for the accused while saying that convict who was an Inspector in the CBI has misused his official position to such an extent that he has extorted the car from the complainant company.

The court said corruption by public servants was in fact paralysing the functioning of the public institutions, thereby hindering the very democratic polity of the state. The court sentenced the accused to rigorous imprisonment for four years under Section 7 of PC Act, 1988, and imposed a fine of 20,000. The convict was also sentenced to undergo five years under Section 13 (1) (d) punishable under Section 13 (2) of PC Act, 1988. The court also imposed a fine of 50,000. Besides, the accused was given rigorous imprisonment for three years under Section 384 of the IPC and fined Rs 30,000. All sentences will run concurrently.

Chandigarh