Cop under scanner,but hotels open

On Wednesday,sleuths from the ACB questioned Lal at their office in Civil Lines. Deputy Commissioner of Police (ACB),I D Shukla,confirmed that he was being questioned,but said that “no arrests have been made.”

Sleuths said that he is cooperating with the investigations. Several raids are being conducted in Gurgaon,Faridabad,Ghaziabad and Delhi.

Outside the ACB office,Lal’s brother,Vinod said,“All allegations are baseless. We were in Canada and had returned just five years back. The property bought here is from the money earned in Canada.” Lal’s father,Rajender Lal,was reportedly in the hotel business in Canada.

This is not the first time that Lal is under scanner. A demolition order was passed against one of his hotels in Paharganj,Hotel Silver Shine,in 2007. The building still stands.

The licensing branch of Delhi Police is supposed to maintain a database of all hotels and owners. A police verification of the owners is also mandatory. Lal purportedly owns three hotels,Hotel India International near Imperial Cinema,Hotel Silver Shine near Sant Rashan Chowk and Karlo Kastle near Gandhi Bazaar.

Hotel India International is registered in the name of Lal’s father,Rajender Lal,while the other two are registered in the name of his brother,Vinod. The hotels are low-profile,barring Hotel India International. One of them — Karlo Kastle — is in a street barely six feet wide.

Members of the Paharganj Guest House Owners’ Association said that Karlo Kastle had opened in 2000 and the tariff is between Rs 300 and Rs 600 per day. Hotel India International opened around six years ago,while Silver Shine has been functioning for two years. Both have a tariff range between Rs 600 and Rs 1200,members said.

Association members said Inspector Lal never attended the three annual meetings of the owners.

“I never saw Lal in any of the meetings. He always sent managers from the hotel,” Association president,Brijmohan Sethi told Newsline.

The manager of Karlo Kastle,one of the hotels,Mohan,said,“He is not involved with in the day-to-day running of these hotels. We never knew him personally.”

Lal had served as the Station House Master of Paharganj police station for two years between 1999 and 2001. Sethi said,“I used to meet him during his tenure as Station House Master in Paharganj over eight years ago. He came across as a very intelligent officer.”

Lal joined Delhi Police as a sub-inspector in 1978. He has served in several police stations,including Paharganj and Karol Bagh. He also served for three years in the ACB from 2003. Lal was serving as the Station House Master of Kalyanpuri police station in East Delhi,when the case was registered against him.

The ACB registered a case of amassing assets disproportionate to his income,misconduct,conspiracy and cheating against Lal following investigations into a tip-off by a Delhi Police officer.

ACB quizzes SHO’s brother
The Anti-Corruption Branch on Thursday questioned Vinod,the brother of Roshan Lal. Raids were conducted in Roshan Lal’s office,residence,and business establishments. The ACB has registered a case of amassing assets disproportionate to his income,misconduct,conspiracy and cheating against Roshan Lal,who had served in the ACB for three years. Asked about recoveries,a senior police official said the scrutiny of documents were still on. “Investigations are on. Right now we are not in a position to say anything,” he said.