Amritsar Improvement Trust land scam: Former Dy Speaker moves plea against VB clean chit to Capt Amarinder Singh, others

Terming the cancellation report a ‘farce’, Bir Davinder said that it was only an attempt made by the state agency to cover up the entire scam. The cancellation report is a result of dereliction of duty on the part of the officers concerned of the VB, he argued.

Amarinder Singh, Amritsar Improvement Trust land scam , Amritsar Improvement Trust , Punjab news, Indian Express News

The court, however, had sent back the report in August asking the probe agency to re-investigate some points. (Express File Photo)

A former Deputy Speaker of the Punjab Assembly during the previous Amarinder Singh government on Wednesday moved a plea urging the special Vigilance Bureau (VB) court not to quash the alleged Amritsar Improvement Trust land scam case against the CM and others. In October 2016, the state’s Vigilance Bureau had filed a cancellation report in the case.

The court, however, had sent back the report in August asking the probe agency to re-investigate some points. The court then had posted the matter for hearing on November 6. Former Speaker Bir Davinder Singh’s plea has been filed six days before that scheduled hearing. Based on the plea, the court on Wednesday issued a notice of motion to state and the accused and posted the matter for Monday (November 6).

In his application, Bir Davinder Singh had said that he was the whistleblower in the case and also one of the witnesses in the case. “Huge money changed hands in lieu of granting exemption and releasing the 32.1 acre of land out of the 188 acre scheme of the Improvement Trust, Amritsar to Messers Veer colonisers. The Punjab Vigilance has also procured the details of the trail of the ill-gotten money deposited in the newly opened foreign bank accounts and the local Bank accounts of the high profile accused as mentioned in the FIR. Why has the Vigilance Bureau now decided to hide all the facts and the documentary evidence already available on the file? The applicant vehemently feels that it does not require application of the rocket science to discern the mala fide intention of the Vigilance Bureau, Punjab to misrepresent the facts in this court to derail the trial of the accused persons,” read the application, the copy of which is with The Indian Express.

Terming the cancellation report a ‘farce’, Bir Davinder said that it was only an attempt made by the state agency to cover up the entire scam. The cancellation report is a result of dereliction of duty on the part of the officers concerned of the VB, he argued.