Ludhiana: Cong leader-cum-former chairman, 5 other LIT officials booked for graft in sale of plots

The fresh FIR has been registered two weeks after two of these officials — executive officer Kuljit Kaur and sales clerk Parveen Kumar — were arrested by vigilance sleuths on July 14 after they were allegedly caught accepting bribe of Rs 10,000 for the re-allotment of a booth, said the complaint of a local resident.

A senior officer of the vigilance bureau said that during the investigation in the bribery case of July 14, it was revealed that the LIT officials “adopted corrupt practices” in the allotment of plot number 9-B in SBS Nagar, plot numbers 102, 103, 104, 105, 106-D in Rishi Nagar and plot number 366-B, 140 in Sarabha Nagar of Ludhiana. The vigilance officer said that these plots were under the Local Displaced Persons (LDP) and other schemes of the trust but were allotted to unauthorised persons after taking huge amounts of bribe.

It was found that some of the allottees had died and their plots had been allotted to some unauthorised persons, violating prescribed rules after taking huge bribe money, the officer added.

An FIR under sections 7, 7-A, 8, 12, 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC was registered against six officials at Economic Offences Wing of Vigilance Bureau Ludhiana and further investigation was on, said the vigilance bureau. Sandeep Sharma, personal assistant to former LIT chairman, was arrested in the case, said the police.

Reacting to the FIR registered against him, Balasubramanium said: “Very unfortunate… Without any systemic investigation, FIR has been lodged. Everything has been done as per law and every procedure has been followed. No unauthorized allocation of any plot was made during my tenure as LIT chairman. There were court orders and government orders for each and every allotment made. I have full faith in judiciary. I shall explain everything to the court and investigating agencies.”