New Delhi: An FIR has been registered against an IPS officer and 17 other police personnel following an order from Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) over a case pertaining to the kidnapping of a dismissed head constable.

Anil Singh, the head constable who had allegedly exposed corruption within the Chandauli police department, had been dismissed from service.

The FIR was lodged at Nandganj Police Station here on Wednesday. PTI has a copy of the FIR.

According to official sources, Singh, residing in Shivshankar Nagar Colony, Varanasi, had filed a criminal complaint in 2022 under Section 156(3) of the CrPC, alleging that senior police officers, including Chandauli Superintendent of Police (SP) and other personnel from the Chandauli Kotwali, were extorting Rs 12.5 lakh every month from the public through corrupt means. The amount was then being divided among themselves, he further alleged.

The claim was investigated by DIG (Vigilance) Luv Kumar, whose inquiry found the allegations to be true.

Angered by these revelations, the then Chandauli SP Amit Kumar II dismissed Singh from his duties on February 28, 2021. Singh also claimed that several individuals who exposed corruption have also been murdered.

Singh further alleged in his complaint that on September 5, 2021, a group of police officers, led by Amit Kumar II and including SWAT team Inspector Rajiv Kumar Singh, surveillance in-charge Inspector Ajit Kumar Singh, SHO Satyendra Vikram Singh and others, kidnapped him from his in-laws’ village at Badhara in Ghazipur.

The officers, dressed in plain clothes, reportedly arrived in a white Bolero car without a number plate with the intention of killing Singh.

He was held in illegal custody for two days and was implicated in a fabricated case. On September 7, 2021, a bogus case (152/2021) was registered at Baburi Police Station, Chandauli, under various sections of the IPC and the Animal Cruelty Act, Singh claims.

However, Singh’s daughter Khushboo Singh managed to contact the police and alert the SHO of Nandganj, leading to his rescue.

Despite his ordeal, Singh pursued justice by filing an application before the CJM court in Ghazipur under Section 156(3) of the CrPC. After an evaluation of evidence, the CJM court, on September 21, 2024, issued an order to register an FIR against the accused police officers. The court also ordered proper investigation into the matter.

On November 27, 2024, two months after the court’s order, an FIR (No. 226/2024) was registered at Nandganj police station in Ghazipur under various sections, including 147 (rioting), 219 (public servant disobeying law), 220 (wrongful confinement), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 364 (kidnapping), 389 (extortion), 467 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using forged documents) and 120B (criminal conspiracy).

Station House Officer (SHO) of Nandganj police station Kamlesh Kumar said, “The FIR was lodged according to the court’s order. We will soon begin the investigation into the matter.” The FIR names 18 police personnel, including IPS officer Amit Kumar II, Inspector Rajiv Kumar Singh, Inspector Ajit Kumar Singh and the other police personnel currently posted in Chandauli and other districts.