By IANS,
New Delhi: A Delhi court Friday framed charges of criminal conspiracy and corruption against an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer and three others in a 2005 human trafficking case and ordered the trial to begin next month.
Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Judge Kanwaljeet Arora also framed charges of cheating and forgery against IFS officer Rakesh Kumar, a former director general of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), and fixed July 17 for commencement of trial.
The other accused are Shiv Kumar Sharma, a draftsman working with Punjab Agricultural University; Balwinder Kaur, a local Punjabi singer; and Gurbej Singh, a constable in the Punjab Armed Police.
The CBI contended that the IFS officer had in 2005 facilitated the empanelling of a bogus cultural group “Mehak Punjab Di” to illegally traffic eight people to Germany at the Indian government’s expense.
Another accused, Hargulab Singh, has turned approver.