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.
