Punjab illegal confinement: CBI court sentences IPS officer, 5 others to 8-month jail

New Delhi  (The Uttam Hindu): IPS officer Gautam Cheema, then IGP of Punjab Police, and five others were on Friday sentenced to eight months' imprisonment by a Special CBI court in a case of wrongful detention of a person picked up from the lawful custody of a police station in Mohali, said a statement from the federal probe agency.

The CBI had investigated the matter of the illegal detention of Sumedh Gulati from the lawful custody of Police Station Phase-I, Mohali, by Cheema, Ajay Chaudhary and four others in 2014. The Special CBI Judge in Mohali sentenced the six accused to imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs 39,000 on them. The other convicts are Varun Utreja (then Advocate); Rashmi Negi, Vicky Verma and Aryan Singh, the CBI said. The CBI had registered the case in compliance with the order of Punjab and Haryana High Court dated March 4, 2020, transferring the investigation of FIR, earlier registered at Police Station-Phase-I, Mohali. It was alleged that on August 26, 2014, at approximately 11 p.m., Gautam Cheema, the then IGP, in an inebriated state, along with Ajay Choudhary and others, arrived at Police Station Phase-I, Mohali and forcibly took away Sumedh Gulati (who had been arrested earlier that day in connection with another case) in a private car to Max Hospital, Phase-6, Mohali, where a complainant was admitted. It is further alleged that Cheema forcibly detained Gulati in the same room and threatened the said complainant, demanding that she withdraw complaints filed against him. After the completion of the investigation, the CBI filed a charge sheet on December 31, 2020, against the six accused. After the trial, the court found the accused guilty and sentenced them accordingly. Cheema is a 1995 batch IPS officer of the Punjab cadre. He is a native of Punjab and holds an M. Phil degree. Last year, the Special CBI Court framed charges against Cheema under penal provisions for wrongful confinement, assault, criminal conspiracy read with trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), kidnapping and obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions.