Time and again,councillors have been accused in cases ranging from shoplifting to stealing electricity From gambling to being involved in brawls,councillors of the Municipal Corporation have done it all. Time and again,controversies surface over the councillors role in a range of cases. The Congress councillors,whose names have figured in many cases,are known to be loyalists of Union Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal. Newsline lists a few such councillors and the cases against them. Devinder Singh Babla (Congress)Babla,who has a number of cases pending against him,is in jail. Among other cases,he was accused of irregularities in the allotment of sheds in the Grain Market,Sector 26. In another case,a SIM card was recovered from Babla when he was being taken to Burail jail. Also,he is accused of securing an auction recorders job for an unqualified person by tampering with documents. Babla has also been involved in minor altercations in the past. During the last Lok Sabha elections,his name cropped up for making threatening remarks against BJP candidate Satya Pal Jain. Raj Kumar Goel (Congress)Goel is the only mayor who resigned in 2001 without completing his one-year term. He was accused of selling products of a company to the Municipal Corporation. It was alleged that Goel,who was a wholesale dealer of the Hindustan Level Limited,had used his influence in the civic body in order to sell the products. The Congress had backed him and stated that Goel did not enter into a contract with the MC. The party had stated that Goel had done nothing to attract disqualification. Goel had to resign following the incident. Subhash Chawla (Congress)The former mayor was accused by an advocate of entering into a brawl and gambling in the Chandigarh Club. Later,the complainant took a U-turn and said the incident was blown out of proportion. Chawla,meanwhile,had denied all charges. H S Lucky (Congress)Lucky,a former councillor,attracted controversy when he was the deputy mayor. He was accused of stealing clothes from a garment store in 2006. His wifes name had also figured in the case. Recently,the case was resolved with the garment store owner taking back his complaint. In the Lok Sabha elections,Lucky was accused of making casteist remarks. This issue was also resolved with the complainant retracting his statements. Pardeep Chhabra (Congress)When he was the mayor in 2008,Chhabras name had figured in a case of stone-pelting at councillor Ram Lals house. Later,Ram Lal had said he had not seen Chhabra on the spot but had only heard about him. Chhabra is also among the 29 accused named in a case of trespassing and rioting. The case,in which names of Babla and Chawla also figure,dates back to 1997. Kamlesh (Congress)The two-time Mayor was accused of collecting funds in the name of Mohalla Sudhar Samiti. Funds amounting to lakhs of rupees were allegedly collected by Kamlesh. Gian Chand Gupta (BJP)As the mayor in 1997,Gupta was accused of stealing electricity and assault. It was alleged that Gupta,along with party workers,had illegally installed lights to welcome the then BJP president L K Advani. Further,it was alleged that government officials were assaulted at his instigation.
