Assets case of Col (Retd) B S Guraya: Proof not preserved by bank, CBI didn’t freeze account, says witness

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The witness, Paramjit Singh, 57, manager of Canara Bank, Amritsar, deposed before the CBI Special Court of Shashibala Chauhan. He stated that the record was not available in the branch as it pertained to 1986. At that time, there was no computerised system and the accounts used to be handled manually.

Deposing before the court, Singh said, “As per banking rules, the record used to be destroyed after every 10 years. In case the record pertains to 1986 of any account, then the same is to be destroyed after 10 years, i.e. 1996. The record pertaining to 1986 has not been generated in the computerised system, which started in 1996-1997.”

Singh added that as per the records brought by him, this account was never frozen by the CBI.

Col Guraya, a resident of Sector 9, was booked in a disproportionate assets case. The agricultural land of the Army personnel was attached by the CBI during the investigation of a corruption case against him. He reportedly sold his attached agricultural land to some persons in Hoshiarpur. The CBI had booked him under sections 13(2) and 13(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

The investigating agency had concluded in its report that from January 1987 to August 1990, Col Guraya and some others had allegedly bought properties amounting to Rs 82.58 lakh.

However, Col Guraya had managed to get a stay on the court proceedings from the apex court. The stay was vacated in 2011.