Shalimar Mall Case: Panchkula MC seeks FIR for ‘missing file’

Panchkula municipal commissioner Lalit Siwach said a necessary action by way of lodging of an FIR had to be taken.

Days after a Panchkula resident alleged that a file pertaining to the recovery of property tax worth crores from Shalimar Mall, Sector 5, has gone missing, the municipal commissioner has written to the Panchkula DCP to file an FIR in the case. Municipal commissioner Lalit Siwach said: “We have launched a special drive to collect property tax and during the course of scrutiny of defaulters, we found that an important file relating to the property tax of Shalimar Mall, Sector 5, is missing from the Zonal Taxation Officer (ZTO) branch. I have written to the DCP, Panchkula, and SHO, Sector 14 Police Station, to register a case and initiate an investigation into the case.”

Highlighting that the file consists of “very important” documents regarding levying of property tax worth crores of rupees as per the policy of the state government, Siwach said a necessary action by way of lodging of an FIR had to be taken.

The Chandigarh Newsline had reported on September 13 that a file pertaining to the pending dues of Shalimar Mall has allegedly gone missing and a complaint regarding this was submitted by resident Ajay Garg to the municipal corporation. Garg had also demanded a vigilance enquiry.

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Shalimar Mall, Sector 5, tops the list of big defaulters of the property tax, with dues of Rs 6.68 crore pending ever since the mall began functioning. However, the mall was sealed last year after the owners allegedly failed to pay power bills of over Rs 15 lakh, after the final notice.

Mayor Upinder Kaur Ahluwalia had also written to Siwach questioning the alleged lenient stance of the corporation towards the defaulter.

She had alleged that the file could have been “intentionally misplaced” and urged the commissioner to look into the issue.

“The police investigation will follow, once the FIR is registered and suitable action will be taken against whoever is found guilty. It could be the defaulter or any of the employees, which will be revealed after proper investigation,” said Siwach.

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