Mohali, May 20 -- A local court on Tuesday sentenced former vigilance bureau superintendent of police (SP) Amandeep Kaur and transporter Rajinder Singh Gopi to three-year jail in a 2011 abetment to suicide case involving excise and taxation officer (ETO) Ranjit Singh. The court of additional sessions judge Hardip Singh convicted the duo under Section 306 (abetment to suicide), read with Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy), of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and imposed a fine of Rs.10,000 each. However, the court acquitted both of corruption and several other charges under the IPC, holding that the prosecution failed to prove demand and acceptance of bribe beyond a reasonable doubt. The case dates back to March 2011, when Ranjit Singh, posted in the excise and taxation department's mobile wing, intercepted two trucks carrying sanitary goods near Banur over suspected tax evasion. While one of the trucks was released after verification, the other remained impounded. According to the prosecution, transporter Gopi approached SP Amandeep Kaur, alleging that the ETO had sought bribe for releasing the vehicle. Ranjit was subsequently arrested in a corruption case. The court observed that the core issue in the trial was not merely the registration of a Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act case, but the conduct of the accused during and after the proceedings. It noted that "third-degree torture of a person who has been accused of an offence is not allowed under the law of the land in India" and held that public humiliation and inhuman treatment inflicted upon the ETO had a direct bearing on his mental state. The court said had the vigilance team arrested Ranjit "without humiliating him in public, the case of the defence would have legs to stand". The prosecution had alleged that Rs.8 lakh were extorted from the ETO during remand proceedings and that a further demand of Rs.50 lakh was made at Gill Regency hotel in Samrala through vigilance reader Harminder Singh. However, the court held that the prosecution failed to establish the essential ingredients of demand and acceptance required under Sections 7 and 13 of the PC Act. The court noted that witness Navtej Singh only proved the presence of the deceased officer at the hotel and that no direct evidence connected Kaur to the alleged demand. Consequently, Kaur and Gopi were acquitted of charges under Sections 353, 323, 218, 195, 166 and 167 of the IPC, along with Sections 7, 8 and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Co-accused Paramjit Singh was acquitted of all charges, with the court observing that his role was limited to being a shadow witness in the vigilance trap. Proceedings against Rajiv Sood and vigilance reader Harminder had already been abated following their deaths during the trial. While awarding the sentence, the court noted that the convicts had faced trial for the past 13 years, and this factor was considered while deciding the quantum of sentence....