A mistake, it’s all over now: Desh Raj to CBI

Terming it a "mistake", City Superintendent of Police Desh Raj, arrested on charges of demanding and accepting bribe, has conceded that he sought money from Inspector Anokh Singh, the complainant in the case.

Trying to "justify" the demand for bribe, Desh Raj has said that he needed the money for the treatment of his ailing daughter. Further, he accepted the money since Anokh Singh was repeatedly "offering" it to him, according to sources in the CBI.

"Koi sewa paani ho to batao na (please tell me if I could be of any financial help), sir. He would keep telling me this. Since I was in need of money, I thought that there is nothing wrong in taking money from Anokh Singh," Desh Raj has told the CBI during his interrogation.

Sources in the CBI told Chandigarh Newsline that Desh Raj kept weeping during the two-day police remand, October 18 and 19. Regretting his action, he kept saying that "everything is over".

Asked if the bribe money was to be shared or given to any other senior police officer, Desh Raj replied in the negative.

Though the IPS officer did not name any other officials of the Police Department, Chandigarh, he said that he had taken similar "favours" from "friends". When confronted, he refused to divulge the names of his "friends".

The CBI officials have five recordings of conversation between Anokh Singh and the accused IPS officer.

Two of the recordings were given to the CBI by Anokh Singh which he had made on his mobile when he visited Desh Raj on October 5 and October 12. Three recordings were made with the help of CBI sleuths on October 18, one in Desh Raj's office at Police Headquarters and two at his residence in Sector 23 when the trap was laid. The evidence collected by the CBI sleuths will now be sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Delhi.

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