Chandigarh, Oct. 9 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) on Wednesday granted interim protection from arrest to Gurjot Singh Kaler, an assistant inspector general (AIG) with Punjab Police, in an abetment to suicide case in which a Mohali businessman had shot himself dead inside HDFC's Sector 68 branch on September 9. Kaler had approached HC after his plea seeking protection from arrest was rejected by a Mohali court on September 16. Mohali police had booked Kaler, 38, and five others on September 10 for driving the victim to suicide. The victim had left a suicide note and a video, accusing multiple people of duping him of crores through immigration and property investment frauds. Kaler, once served as SP (traffic and cyber crime) in Mohali. The FIR was registered under Sections 108 (abetment of suicide) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. As per the victim's father, his son was into immigration and property businesses for several years in Sector 82, Mohali. The son had invested around Rs.2.46 crore for immigration, property and business purposes. Sameer, acting as chartered accountant and handling property work, held Rs.3.50 crore on behalf of another investor, Gurdial Singh, as per the police. The father had alleged that the accused forcibly took crores from his son for property investment, but neither provided any property documents nor returned the money. On the ill-fated day, as per the complaint, the deceased was taken to Kaler's residence in a government vehicle by a cop, Rishi Rana, and another man. They allegedly forced him to apply for a loan in his name and took him to HDFC bank in Sector 68. At the bank, he excused himself to go to the toilet, where he recorded a video narrating the harassment and fraud. He sent the video to a friend and a text message to his wife, explaining the situation, before shooting himself with a licensed .45-bore pistol, as per the FIR. In HC, Kaler had submitted that he had been falsely implicated in the case. He further stated that similarly situated co-accused persons have been granted bail by the court. "The FIR is a result of vengeance and afterthought. There is no clear evidence of instigation or abetment to suicide. The CCTV footage also negates the allegation of force or coercion," he had argued, adding that the deceased was under huge financial pressure, owing to failed investments and suicide was clearly an outcome of financial depression, not instigation by petitioner. The court, while posting the matter for hearing on November 6 and seeking government response, ordered that " no coercive action shall be taken against the petitioner till the next date of hearing." Phase 8 station house officer (SHO) Satnam Singh, who is investigating the case, said the probe is on. "We are conducting back-to-back raids at different locations and examining all financial and technical records linked to the case while trying to secure evidence. Statements of key witnesses are being recorded, and every angle is being investigated thoroughly. No new names have come up in the case yet," he said....