AJL plot allotment case: Vigilance clean chit to 3 officers prompted transfer of case to CBI
While Vigilance had already questioned the three bureaucrats, they have not yet questioned former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who was also under the scanner.
THE HARYANA government’s decision last week to hand over the Associated Journals Limited (AJL) plot reallotment case to the CBI came after the state Vigilance Bureau’s failure to find anything incriminating against the top bureaucrats who dealt with the file.
The Vigilance Bureau, which had registered the criminal case to probe the alleged irregularities in re-allotment of the plot to AJL this May, had given a clean chit to the three bureaucrats a fortnight ago.
Last week, the state government decided to refer the case to the CBI.
While Vigilance had already questioned the three bureaucrats, they have not yet questioned former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who was also under the scanner.
Officials associated with the probe told The Indian Express that they could not get substantial evidence to question Hooda at this stage.
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The three bureaucrats under the scanner are IAS officers Shakuntla Jakhu, S S Dhillon and Vineet Garg. While the three officers dealt with the AJL plot allotment file in their official capacity, Hooda was chairman of Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), which made the allotment. Hooda overruled their objections and issued an order that led to reallotment of the plot in AJL’s favour.
The re-allotment was made on September 28, 2005, by way of “Direct Transfer” months after the Congress government came to power in Haryana and Hooda took oath as CM. Sources in Vigilance confirmed to The Indian Express that the agency had stopped further investigation in the case.
It was on May 5 this year that Vigilance registered a case and booked Hooda, senior HUDA officials, trustees and directors of AJL and the promoters of National Herald on charges of cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy and under the Prevention of Corruption Act for realloting the plot to AJL in Panchkula at old rates and causing financial loss to the state exchequer.
The three top bureaucrats who dealt with the reallotment file —- S S Dhillon (the then Chief Administrator, HUDA), Shakuntla Jakhu (the then Principal Secretary, Town and Country Planning Department) and Vineet Garg (the then administrator, HUDA, Headquarters) were questioned by Vigilance.
“We have informed the government that our investigation, as on date, has not revealed any incriminating evidence against the three officers S S Dhillon, Shakuntala Jakhu and Vineet Garg. All three have been questioned by the Vigilance Bureau and their statements have been recorded. Garg has told us in his statement that he was on election duty when the file was moved. Dhillon and Jakhu stated that they had opposed the decision of reallotment of the plot to AJL in writing and had even recorded their remarks on the case file. Both have stated that they were never in favour of reallotment of the plot in AJL’s name on old rates. Investigation shows that the then CM overruled all these objections and took a decision in his capacity as Chairman, HUDA”, a top Vigilance officer told The Indian Express.
“Several officers dealt with this allotment file over the years. Each one’s role needs to be investigated. Many of these officers are posted out of the state or have retired. There are also indications that people outside the purview of Vigilance investigation need to be questioned.
But since the case has already been referred to the CBI, we will not be investigating into it further. We have written to the state government that since the investigation in the case goes beyond Haryana, thus it should be handed over to a central investigating agency,” the officer added.
AJL was allotted a 3,360 sqm plot in Sector 6, Panchkula. The plot has a well constructed building but it is non-operational till date.
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