Punjab man swallows poison at police station over report copy, alleges bribe demand

A shocking case has come to light from Punjab's Barnala district, where a young man consumed poison inside a police station premises, alleging he was asked for a bribe to get a police report on damage to his car. He was rushed to hospital immediately after the incident and is undergoing treatment.

The case involves Jobanpreet Singh, a resident of Bhathlan village. About seventeen days ago, his car was gutted in a fire. He needed a copy of the Daily Diary Report (DDR) from the police for his insurance claim. Jobanpreet says he had been making repeated rounds of the police station for several days to obtain this report.

In a video that went viral on social media, Jobanpreet levelled serious allegations against an officer at the station. He said he was asked for money in exchange for the DDR copy. He also alleged that the same officer accused him of having set fire to his own car. Referring to an ongoing land dispute in Sangrur district, Jobanpreet also made allegations against a patwari there. These allegations have not been separately verified.

The police, on the other hand, have denied all the allegations made by the young man. According to police, Jobanpreet was under mental stress due to the land dispute. They said the DDR regarding his car incident had already been registered, and he had been asked to come the next day to collect the copy.

On Thursday morning, Jobanpreet reached the police station to collect the DDR copy. At the time, the police inspector was busy in a video conference, so he was asked to wait a while. Soon after, he suddenly consumed poison inside the station premises. Seeing his condition worsen, police rushed him to hospital, where he is currently undergoing treatment. The incident has caused a stir at the police station, and both the young man's allegations of a bribe demand and the police's explanation are being investigated. Police are further probing the matter.