Home guard volunteer provides tobacco to borstal inmates, held

Ludhiana: A Punjab home guard volunteer deputed at the borstal has been nabbed for providing prohibited commodities to inmates. According to borstal officials, the accused accepted money from inmates through UPI to supply them with tobacco and cigarettes etc. The arrested home guard volunteer, Kulwinder Singh, 40, a resident of Kailash Nagar, Basti Jodhewal, was apprehended by officials of the borstal and handed over to the police.He was booked under sections 52 A of the Prison Act and sections 7, 13 (2) of Prevention from Corruption Act.
The case was lodged on the complaint of head warder of the borstal, Harjeet Singh. The head warder, who is also barrack in-charge and line officer of the borstal told the police that they received information about the activities of Kulwinder Singh from inside sources. Thereafter, officials started monitoring him and found that Kulwinder had been providing prohibited commodities like tobacco and cigarettes etc to inmates in exchange for money.

They nabbed Kulwinder and checked his mobile phone, in which UPI transactions were found. Then they filed a police complaint. Borstal superintendent Gurpreet Singh said, “Kulwinder had been working at the borstal for the past six months. The probe so far found that he had accepted between Rs 500 and Rs 1,500 from two inmates and provided them with tobacco and cigarettes.”
On being asked if Kulwinder used to provide prohibited stuff to other inmates too, the superintendent said, “The possibility cannot be ruled out, however it is part of the investigation.”
Investigating officer from division number 7 police station, ASI Sukhwinder Singh said, “Police have arrested the accused home guard, who got the job on compensatory grounds about one year ago after his father, who was also a home guard, died. Interrogation revealed that two inmates of the borstal first befriended Kulwinder. Then they offered him money and asked him to arrange tobacco and cigarettes. Kulwinder initially supplied them cigarettes and tobacco for which kin of the inmates transferred Rs 500 to Rs 1,500 to Kulwinder’s e- wallet.”
He added, “Later, the inmates started blackmailing him. They were asking him to provide them with prohibited commodities for free and threatened to complain against him if he did not do so. Kulwinder refused to accept it, after which both the inmates filed a complaint against him with the borstal officials. As proof, they provided details of UPI payments.” He also said that the inmates were witnesses in the case and would not be booked.