Excise official receives ‘threat call’ from ‘smuggler’; probe on

SSP Gurpreet Singh Gill confirmed having received the complaint that mentioned the name of a senior vigilance officer. “We will verify facts before taking any action as the matter is very serious,” he said.

Shiv Kumar,however,denied that he had any relative by the name of Vishwanath. “I have no information on the case and I will never back anyone violating law,” he said.

The FIR in question was registered against Vishwanath,Gogi Sood,Mohan Singh,Lakhwinder Singh,Lakhwinder and Najar Khan at the Rajpura police station on Thursday on charges of evading excise duty.

According to police records,Vishwanath operates a business of ferrying goods,especially iron scrap and steel,in and out of Punjab without paying excise duty. A tax evasion case was earlier registered against him in 2009 after which the High Court had rejected his pre-arrest bail. Vishwanath then moved the Supreme Court. After a departmental probe,meanwhile,Rajpura DSP Manmohan Sharma gave a clean chit to the accused in his report. In May 2010,however,the Supreme Court,too,rejected the bail plea. It issued directions to the Patiala SSP to arrest Vishwanath and also pulled up the DSP for his report in favour of the accused. The DIG,Patiala Range,had been directed to look into the matter.

Rajpura DSP Manmohan Sharma declined to comment,claiming that the case was registered by the excise wing and he had nothing to do with it. Asked why Vishwanath was given a clean chit in his inquiry in February 2010,Sharma said it was based on the phone records of the accused,refusing to talk further on the issue.

Despite SC directions,the police have failed to arrest Vishwanath,who is wanted in several cases of tax evasion and is “absconding” according to police records.

Speaking to The Indian Express,Bangar said he was in a meeting at his office when

he received the threat call from Vishwanath. He immediately informed the excise and taxation commissioner. “Later,I approached the police as the accused is a habitual offender and there is a threat to my life. No one

can work in these conditions,” he said.

Sources in the police and excise and taxation department said officers were afraid to act against the mafia. “They openly threaten anyone,claiming to have support of higher-ups,” said a senior excise officer.

Commandant,1st IRB (posted with excise security),Mandeep Singh Sidhu said he registered the case against Vishwanath and others in Rajpura on the complaint of Excise and Taxation Officer Major Singh Dhillon.