A Punjab Police inspector was on Thursday convicted for extortion and corruption by the court of Bathinda District and Sessions Judge Kuldeep Singh. The court sentenced Inspector Harnek Singh to three years’ imprisonment in a case dating back to July last year, when he was posted as station house officer at Nathana. Harnek is at present attached to the security force of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, said Bathinda SSP Ashish Chaudhry.

On July 6, 2008, a case was registered against Harnek Singh among others after a man approached the police alleging that one Kuljeet Kaur asked him for lift near Lehra Mohabbat. She said she knew him and had even stayed at his house once. The complainant, thinking that she was speaking the truth, let her inside his car. On the way, Kuljeet said she had some work at her friend’s place in Poohla village. After reaching Poohla, she asked the complainant to come inside her friend’s house to have a cup of tea.

Moments after the complainant entered the house, Harnek Singh allegedly came inside and threatened to implicate him in a sex scandal case. Harnek demanded Rs 2.5 lakh to hush up the matter and the ‘deal’ was eventually fixed at Rs 1 lakh, said the police. “While the complainant paid Rs 5,000 on the spot, he paid another Rs 90,000 at a later date,” said Bathinda District Attorney-cum-Public Prosecutor Shinderpal Singh Brar. Harnek has also been fined Rs 12,000.