A police raid in Shahkot area recently came under serious scrutiny after a video of the incident went viral on social media and acting on the matter, Senior Superintendent of Police Harvinder Singh Virk ordered action against three police officials and initiated a detailed inquiry.
According to official records FIR No. 90 was registered at Shahkot Police Station on April 9 under the Excise Act and the FIR stated that 35 liters of ‘lahan’ (illicit liquor) was recovered from the house of Akram a resident of Daulatpur Dhadda village however the case took a turn after a video surfaced online where the footage shows a vehicle arriving outside the house with some individuals entering the premises carrying a blue drum and later police personnel are seen coming out with the same drum.
Following this a probe was conducted by a DSP and during the inquiry it was found that the drum used for the alleged recovery had been arranged by the police team themselves.
After the video went viral SSP Harvinder Singh Virk ordered an impartial investigation and as an immediate action SHO Inspector Balwinder Singh, ASI Sukhwinder Singh and Lady Constable Heavenpreet Kaur have been sent to Police Lines and further SP Vineet has been assigned to carry out a detailed investigation and officials have said that strict action will be taken if anyone is found guilty during the probe.
Initial findings also revealed that the accused Akram was not present at his house at the time of the raid and the CCTV footage reportedly shows the police team arriving in a EcoSport vehicle and bringing the drum with them and the drum appeared to be heavy and was carried by two people. The entire operation from arrival to departure was completed in about 13 minutes and the drum was later sealed, samples were collected and the seizure was recorded as per procedure.
Meanwhile, police sources confirmed that the accused has a previous criminal record an the investigation is ongoing.
