Tainted CBI cop in list of shameful 16

CHANDIGARH: Tainted Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI) inspector Ravinder Singla has joined the ignominious list of 16 CBI sleuths arrested by the agency itself for corruption in the last three years.
Singla, who was arrested for allegedly extorting a car from a Sector 9-based pharmaceutical company, is in the company of Vivek Dutt, a SP rank officer, and CBI inspector Rajesh Karnatak.Both were arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 15 lakh for favouring a man in May 2013. Dutt was attached with a special investigation team constituted for probing the Coalgate scam in New Delhi.
On Saturday, Singla was placed under suspension and a regular departmental probe was marked against him by senior CBI officers in New Delhi.
CBI spokesman R K Gaur said, "Whenever a government officer spends more than 48 hours behind bars and in a lock-up in any criminal case, he is put under suspension with immediate effect. Singla also met the same fate. He is in custody for four days and will be produced again in a local court in Chandigarh on Monday."
Sources said of the 16 officers, seven were charge-sheeted. One of them was dismissed, the second removed from service and another demoted.
Singla along with his associate Gautam Sharma was arrested under charges of corruption for extorting a Honda City from the officials of a leading pharmaceutical company, Nectar Life Sciences Ltd, Sector 9, on the pretext of slapping a false case against the company officials on May 25. He and Sharma were being grilled in Delhi's CBI office. Singla's some relatives were serving in Chandigarh, Haryana and Delhi police. Recently, he was snubbed by one of the colleagues when he advocated for a Chandigarh police constable against whom a few complaints of corruption were received.