3 years on, Ludhiana court disposes Vigilance Bureau’s cancellation report, directs further probe

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The VB had filed cancellation report on the basis of the second SIT report prepared by the then DSP Niranjan Singh, of VB Jalandhar unit.

Interestingly, no challan was filed against any of the 13 accused mentioned in the FIR in this case and only cancellation report was presented in the court.

The land scam case was registered under sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120 B of the IPC was registered in February 2017 against 13 person including the then SDM Hoshiarpur and the Competent Authority Anand Sagar Sharma as a Prime accused, Tehsildar Baljinder Singh, Naib Tehsildar Manjit Singh, municipal councillor Harpinder Singh Gill, district cooperative bank chairman Satwinderpal Singh Dhatt, Hoshiarpur market committee chairman Avtar Singh Johal, patwaris Daljit Singh and Parminder Singh, two clerks. The role of 15 others including the kins of the SAD leaders including Gill’s wife Harjinder Kaur and son Amrit Preet Singh, Sukhwinder Kaur (Wife of Dhatt and Gurinderjit Kaur, Johal’s wife was also under scanner.

Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Principal Accountant General (PAG) Punjab have also conducted their investigations in this case and established that a multi-crore excess payments were made.

One of the residential colony in Khwaspur village of Hoshiarpur which was also under scanner. (Express)

Even the Prime Minister of Indian Office had also marked an inquiry in this case to the the Additional Chief Secretary of Punjab.

What was Hoshiarpur Land scam?

The land scam was exposed in June 2016 in which it was allegedly blatant irregularities were committed by the competent authority appointed for acquiring land for four laning project from Jalandhar district to Hoshiarpur. The then Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Hoshiarpur, Anand Sagar Sharma, was made a competent authority for acquiring land for the project. Hoshiarpur based RTI Activist Rajiv Vahisht, had highlighted the scam that how three local Akali leaders had bought agricultural land at throw away price with connivance of competent authority from farmers just before NHAI started process of acquiring land. They later got the land use changed into ‘commercial and residential’ colonies in no times and then sold to NHAI for four- laning project at an exorbitant price. The scam had taken place on less than 2-Kilometre stretch close to Hoshiarpur city. Land purchased from farmers at the rate of Rs. 30,000 per marla was sold to NHAI at the rate of Rs. 6 lakh and Rs. 10 lakh per marla (225 sq. Feet).

Vigilance Bureau role:

After the probe was ordered to VB by the then SAD-BJP government and after a probe of 8-months an FIR dated 10.02.2017 was registered by Economic Offence Wing (EOW) VB, Ludhiana, against over a dozen persons by name on the basis of probe of a SIT led by DIG Shiv Kumar Verma of Vigilance department. SIT report said that total scam was of Rs. 22 crores. It said this land scam was a case of an alleged excess payment to the private persons by the competent officials by getting changed the land use (CLU).

Then VB formed another SIT in 2018. Inspector Niranjan Singh, who later became DSP, was the Investigating Officer (IO) in the second SIT. On the basis of second SIT’s report, the VB filed cancellation report in Ludhiana court. The 70 pages Cancellation report said that neither any ‘criminal liability’ nor any ‘solid evidences’ were found against the accused during the thorough investigations. The said report also said that due to lack of evidences, the presentation of the challan in the court in this case, which was registered by VB against the alleged accused by name, will be a mere ‘wastage of time’ of both VB as well as the honourable court. The report said that there is no proof of corruption was proved in this case.

ED’s Investigation:

Meanwhile, in 2018 Enforcement Directorate (ED) had also initiated action against Sharma under Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 in Hoshiarpur land scam . The ED officials also pointed in their probe how government officials and SAD leaders became party in this project and caused a loss of Rs 58 crores to the state exchequer by changing the type of land acquired from ‘agricultural’ to ‘commercial’. ED, Jalandhar Zonal Office , had even issued a Provisional Attachment order whereby immovable properties approximately worth Rs. 37 Crore of the five accused have been attached under the PMLA.

RTI Activist Rajiv Vashisth.

When VB filed cancellation report in June , 2019, the other side on ED’s petition, District Session Judge Jalandhar S K Garg, who is also the Special Judge, Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), on September 3, 2019 summoned six accused through warrants of arrest to face trial for offence under the PMLA. ED also added few more names in the list of accused. ED had said that criminality happened mainly on two counts, one, sale- purchase of the land in the notified prohibited area after the issuance of the notification by the Government to acquire the land and secondly, undue and excess compensation was paid by the Competent Authority for Land Acquisition.

Even Principal Accountant General (PAG) Correspondence with Hoshiarpur District administration speaks about excess payment of Rs. 20.93 crores in eight villages where the land was acquired.

RTI activist Rajiv Vashisht Version:

“I have full fail this in the Judicial system of our country and the court has done justice. This order has strengthened people’s trust in the Judicial system that guilty can’t go scot-free and also boost the morale people like us to work hard to bring out such grave irregularities for the betterment of our system and society,” said Rajiv Vashisht.