A cop and a lady have been detained in an alleged extortion scam in which Rs 3 lakh has been extorted from Jaspal Singh Cheema, a 79-year-old NRI. To implicate him, narcotics were planted in his car as part of the plot. Two more suspects are still at large.
While in India, Cheema, an American, stayed in Mohali with his buddy Harinder Kaur. On July 18, Cheema parked his car next to the Kiran cinema in Sector 22, Chandigarh, while he was shopping. When he got back, Sector 17 police officer Constable Balwinder Singh contacted him, saying he had gotten a tip and that he had to check the car.
During the search, recorded on the constable’s phone, Balwinder allegedly planted a black polythene bag in the car, asserting it contained drugs. He threatened Cheema with charges under the NDPS Act unless a bribe was paid. Cheema, suspecting a setup, pleaded for leniency. Balwinder then began negotiating a settlement, initially demanding Rs 7 lakh but agreeing to Rs 3 lakh.
Harinder contacted her friend Riya, who arrived with her brother-in-law Karan. Karan persuaded the constable to avoid filing a case. Harinder withdrew Rs 40,000 from a nearby ATM and handed it to Balwinder. Additionally, Balwinder took Cheema’s car registration certificate and senior citizen card and asked Karan to fetch Cheema’s passport from his house as collateral for the remaining payment.
The next day, Cheema withdrew Rs 2.60 lakh, which was given to Riya to deliver to the constable. Despite paying the agreed amount, Cheema’s passport was not returned, and Balwinder demanded more money. Unable to return to the US on July 22 as planned, Cheema reported the extortion to the police.
The police arrested Constable Balwinder Singh and Harinder Kaur. During interrogation, Harinder confessed to conspiring with Riya and Karan to extort money from Cheema, knowing he was visiting India after six years. The police recovered Cheema’s documents and Rs 40,000 from the accused. An investigation is ongoing to determine the contents of the planted packet.
A similar incident happened in the year 2023 when sub-inspector Naveen Phogat was fired after he was accused of abducting and getting Rs 1 crore in bribes.
