Vigilance Bureau Ready To Present Challan In Land Scandal

The Vigilance department is almost equipped with its verdicts in the Rs 250 crore Patiala land scandal and would shortly showcase a challan in the court.

The FIR in the case was lodged on November 9 2012 and ex Deputy Commissioner Vikas Garg is among the nine charged.

Sources stated that the department was making attempts seek the re-arrest of Naib Tehsildar Gurinder Walia, who was out on bail and was supposedly “not assisting” in the probes ever since Vikas was detained in March 2013.

The sources added that the interrogation of all four administrative functionaries showed that Vikas was instrumental in getting the land shifted unlawfully.

“Vikas was theirhead and was active in the complete case to get the property shifted to private individuals in spite of protests by his predecessor Dipinder Singh,” they added.

A senior Vigilance administrator attached with the probes stated that they had evidence to found that the then District Revenue Officer, Rajbir Singh, also a charged, had written on the folder that he did the registry accompanying rules from Vikas. “During inquiring, he (Rajbir) consented that Garg was adamant on getting the land shifted to private individuals,” he stated.

The functionaries are likely to shortly talk about the case with Vigilance Bureau Chief Director Suresh Arora to make sure a “fool-proof” challan in the court.

The Vigilance department, but, was yet to follow the so-called money trail in the case. “We think money exchanged hands and it was invested in real estate biz. But, we are yet to found it,” an official said.

Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police (Vigilance) Pritam Singh stated that the challan would be introduced in the court as shortly as a “few misplaced links were brought together”. “The detained charged have confessed that since Vikas Garg was their head, they could not disobey his orders (on land transfer),” he said.