Chandigarh, Sep 13 (IANS): Controversial senior police officer Gautam Cheema was placed under suspension by the Punjab government Saturday.

Cheema, an inspector general (IG) of police, was suspended following a complaint filed by three women, Krispy Khera, Maninder Gulati and Amarpreet Verma, against him.

Khera is the wife of property dealer Devinder Singh Gill with whom Cheema and other police officers of Punjab and their relatives had invested crores of rupees in real estate.

"A complaint was filed by Krispy Khera, Maninder Gulati and Amarpreet Verma against Gautam Cheema. To ensure free and fair probe regarding the allegations, Cheema was placed under suspension with immediate effect," a spokesperson of the Department of Home Affairs and Justice said here.

The Punjab Police had registered cases against Cheema last month on the charge of abducting a proclaimed offender (PO) from a police station. He was also booked for alleged molestation.

Cheema, who was posted in the information technology and telecommunications wing, was booked along with three others, including a woman, for allegedly abducting proclaimed offender Sumedh Gulati recently from a police station in Mohali, 10 km from here.

Gulati had been brought to the police station for questioning. He is said to be a close associate of Gill, who was arrested recently by the Haryana police in a case of alleged rape.

Police officials said that Cheema and his accomplices came to the police station in a private vehicle and took Gulati away even while he was being questioned after his arrest.

Gill's wife Krispy had complained to the police earlier that Cheema had allegedly tried to molest her.

A number of officers, including police officers, are said to have invested millions of rupees in unaccounted money with Gill in real estate but he conned them.