Punjab: AAP MLA Jagdeep Goldy Kamboj's father arrested for demanding ₹10 lakh from rape accused

Chandigarh: Surinder Kamboj, the father of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP's) Jalalabad MLA, Jagdeep Goldy Kamboj, was arrested for demanding ₹10 lakh from rape accused in Punjab’s Fazilka district on Friday.

Police said that accused Surinder, 67, was among four residents booked under Sections 384, 389 and 34 of IPC on the complaint of a local property dealer Sunil Kumar.

Surinder Kamboj charged with extortion

According to Avneet Kaur, the senior superintendent of police in Fazilka, Surinder Kamboj was one of the four residents from the area who have been charged with extortion under Sections 384, 389, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. This was done following a complaint lodged by a property dealer named Sunil Kumar.

According to his complaint, Sunil Kumar, a 42-year-old property dealer who resides in Jalalabad town, received a call from a local resident named Rano Bai on Thursday, who expressed her interest in renting a house. He went to show her a property on Doctor Wali Street and returned shortly thereafter.

“In the evening, Rano called him up and her 23-year-old son Sunil Rai accused Sunil Kumar of taking advantage of her. A few minutes later, another woman called him up and rudely asked him whether he’s a property dealer or a rapist,” the complainant narrated in his complaint.

Kamboj asked complainant to meet and settle the matter

Afterwards, Sunil Kumar received a phone call from Surinder Kamboj, who informed him that Rano Bai had lodged a complaint of rape against him and was currently at the local civil hospital. Surinder Kamboj also suggested that they meet to settle the matter cordially.

When Sunil Kumar arrived at Surinder Kamboj's residence, the latter demanded a sum of ₹10 lakh to resolve the issue.

Jalalabad deputy superintendent of police Atul Soni said: “We received the complaint and caught Surinder Kamboj accepting ₹50,000 from the complainant."

Reacting to the case, AAP MLA Jagdeep Goldy Kamboj said that he had been staying away from his father for a long time and had nothing to do with this and that he would not interfere. The law would take its own course, he added.

Four charged in the case

Surinder Kamboj, Rano Bai, Sunil Rai, and his wife were all charged in the case. While Surinder Kamboj and Sunil Rai (who is currently unemployed) have been apprehended, the two women are currently at large.

It has been reported that Surinder Kamboj was previously charged by Chandigarh Police in 2007 for his involvement in a flesh trade racket and vehicle thefts. While Goldy maintained that his father lived separately from him, the two were spotted attending various social and political events together lately.

In the 2022 assembly elections, Goldy, a former Congress rebel who joined the AAP, managed to secure a victory over Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal in the Jalalabad constituency, which is considered a stronghold of the Akali Dal, by a margin of 30,374 votes.