Amritsar City SP

Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh was posted as SP City Amritsar in April 2002 and remained there till November 2003. Policing in the holy city of Amritsar is always treated as a challenge but he took this task in a very simple manner. He just started genuine policing and in a very short span of time the officer was able to establish the dominance of police over criminal elements. Because of his proactive approach of policing, crime rate went down and general law & order situation improved drastically.

Soon after his posting, he proved his capability and conviction towards duty. He launched special operations against the antisocial elements and the organized crime in the city including robbery, burglary, auto-thefts, Immoral trafficking, match fixing, gambling, drugs and land grabbing. Many of these crimes, which were unearthed and dealt with successfully, were going on unabated in the city for years. As a result of his hard work and efficiency the crime graph of the City fell down considerably.

He won the confidence of the general public by dint of his honesty, hard work and supreme devotion to his duty. He introduced various innovative steps in the City Policing. He brought many improvements and innovations in the field of investigation and re-instituted Beat System in a modified way as per the needs and available resources. By this way he entrusted responsibility even to the lowest level of the force and encouraged the general masses to participate and contribute in crime prevention. By virtue of these initiatives, the motivation level of the force increased and the relations with the community also improved.

He then undertook the task of uprooting the evil of organ trade, which was going on in the holy city for a decade.  Punjab’s kidney racket was an organized nexus of the operating doctors, middlemen, advocates and some other agencies including the authorization committee headed by the Principal Medical College, Amritsar. The main victims of the racket were the poor donors who belong to the lower strata of the society including the migrant labourers. Because of their poverty and illiteracy, the middlemen could easily lure them on the promise of a hefty sum, which they were never paid after the removal of their kidneys. The “donors” were wrongly shown as domestic servants living with the patients (recipients) for the past 8 to 15 years. Many of the “donors” were even minors. Some of the “donors” died due to lack of post-operative care and the dead bodies were cremated either as unclaimed or on a false identity. So much so, some dead bodies were even thrown in the jungles or rivers. At least three thousand poor persons were exploited by the racketeers and the main beneficiaries were the doctors and the middlemen working for them.

The investigation of the scam was not an easy task. The kidney trade in Amritsar has a long history. Many cases had been registered in this regard in Amritsar right from 1995 onwards. But because of influence and money power, the racketeers managed to go scot-free from the very beginning. Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh handled the case with great courage and conviction despite all odds. He even faced immense pressure and difficulty in the investigation because of non-cooperation and even involvement of some of his own superiors, but this did not deter his determination and he went ahead without fear or favour. In the mean time the Government of Punjab realized the sensitivity of the matter and deputed Shri AA Siddiqui, the then ADGP (Law and Order) to supervise the investigation. Mr. Singh showed his investigation ability and excellence and took the case to its logical conclusion in a record time. The kidney racket, which had been thriving for the last 10 years, was completely uprooted. Many more innocent lives, which could have been ruined, have been saved from this menace. This wholehearted contribution of Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh towards the society is not only commendable but would be remembered by the masses in years to come.

He detected the first case of Cyber crime in Punjab, though being a student of humanities. He got success in this task only because of his dedication and hard work. The victim of the case, a noble lady, whose false profile was created on a web-site with intent to defame her, was on the verge of committing suicide due to obscene calls. Timely intervention of Mr. Singh saved the life of the lady.

He also rescued 53 child labourers on 24 July 2002, who were being exploited by the gold smiths of the City. He himself conducted a raid and nabbed a gang who was dealing with unlawful admissions in the Medical Colleges by leaking the PMT (Pre Medical Test) papers. He was able to highlight the loopholes in the selection process. The investigation of the case was completed very proficiently. The case was highlighted as PMT scam. After a successful tenure of more than one and half years as SP City he was posted as SP Mohali in November 2003. He is one of a few direct IPS officers who completed one year on this hot post.

 

The Tribune, Chandigarh 03 November 2013 MAIN NEWS

Kidney racket: 5 doctors among 6 convicted

PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 2 The court of Additional Sessions Judge GS Bakshi today convicted six persons, including five doctors, in one of the cases surrounding the infamous 2002 Amritsar kidney racket. The quantum of sentence would be announced on November 8. The accused were arrested and sent to jail soon after their conviction. This is the first major conviction since the racket was unearthed by the then Superintendent of Police (City) Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh. The case pertains to Bagicha Singh (17), a resident of Jagraon, whose kidney was transplanted to a Chandigarh-based inspector, Suresh Kumar Sharma. He later died in a road accident under mysterious circumstances. Bagicha was picked up by a middleman, Baljit Singh, alias Vicky, from the Golden Temple complex in 2002 on the pretext of giving him driving lessons. He was taken to the inspector’s house in Chandigarh where he was lured with money for “donating” his kidney. Upon refusal, the victim was threatened and forced to donate his kidney. Using a fake ID, Bagicha was produced as Raju, son of Ajit Kumar, a resident of Link Colony, Jalandhar, before the authorisation committee headed by the then principal of Government Medical College, Dr OP Mahajan, for sanction. The affidavit submitted for permission for transplant pointed out that Raju had been living with Suresh Kumar for 10 years as a domestic help and that he was donating kidney out of love and affection and on humanitarian grounds without any consideration. Besides Suresh Kumar and Dr OP Mahajan, those convicted include Dr Jagdish Gargi, the then head of Forensic Department (who was also a member of the authorisation committee), and Dr HS Bhutani, Dr Harjinder Singh and Dr SPS Grover, all doctors of New Ruby Hospital in Jalandhar. Middleman Baljit Singh was convicted in the case six months ago, said Deputy District Attorney RK Salwan. Salwan said Dr Mahajan and Dr Gargi had got bail in 2002 while the remaining Jalandhar-based doctors were released on bail in 2005. Suresh Kumar got bail from the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2002. Two more cases in connection with the kidney racket were pending in the court. The background • The case pertains to the transplant of kidney to a Chandigarh-based inspector, Suresh Kumar Sharma, in 2002 • The donor was picked up by a middleman from the Golden Temple complex and taken to the inspector’s house in Chandigarh • The donor was shown as a domestic help before the authorisation committee, headed by Government Medical College’s then principal Dr OP Mahajan, for sanction [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20131103/main4.htm]

 

The Tribune, Chandigarh 09 November 2013

M A I N N E W S

Amritsar kidney racket: Five doctors get 5-yr jail term

Tribune News Service

Convicted doctors come out of the court after their sentencing in Amritsar. Amritsar, November 8 The District and Sessions Court today handed down jail terms ranging between five and eight years to six convicts, including a former principal of the local Government Medical College, in a case involving the infamous Amritsar kidney racket. Additional District and Session Judge GS Bakshi sentenced kidney recipient and former Haryana policeman Suresh Kumar to eight years in jail. Five doctors — Dr OP Mahajan (former principal), Dr Jagdish Gargi, Dr SPS Grover, Dr HS Bhutani and Dr Arjinder Singh — were awarded a five-year jail sentence. The six were convicted by the court on November 2 in a transplant case of Bagicha Singh (17), a resident of Jagraon. The victim’s kidney was illegally transplanted to Suresh Kumar, a resident of Chandigarh. Bagicha had later died in a road accident under mysterious circumstances. The racket was unearthed by the then Superintendent of Police (City-I), Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, in 2002. The victim was picked up by a middleman, Baljit Singh, from the Golden Temple area in 2002. He was later taken to the inspector’s house where he was threatened to donate the organ.[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20131109/main2.htm]

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