Scam tainted,and safe

However,when it comes to convictions,the “long hands of law” often end up either bypassing them or let them slip through the loopholes.

Sample this: No IAS officer has been convicted in the state so far. Most of them,in spite of being caught red-handed in acts of ommission and commission and facing numerous charges,are flourishing and occupying plum posts in Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s ‘Hooda-yana’.

Some have retired even as cases drag on with a “promise to reach their logical end” as the “law takes its own course.”

Here’s how some of them are faring. A CBI court has refused to accept the closure report in multi-crore amusement and theme park scam (Chandigarh) in which the-then Home Secretary Krishna Mohan (IAS) and then then UT tourism director Vivek Atray (HCS) were named accused. At present Mohan is Haryana Home Secretary while Atray is Additional Transport Controller.

Similarly,the Sharan brothers accused in different scams,are also enjoying plum posts. Elder sibling Ajit Mohan Sharan,(1979 batch) who was nabbed by the Vigilance Bureau in a Rs 97-crore scam when he was the managing director of Haryana Financial Commission between 1992-96,is now posted as Financial Commissioner,Power. He is holds the charge of chairman,Haryana Power Utilities.

His younger brother Anand Mohan Sharan,who hit the headlines in the Delhi Development Authority scam,is currently the Director General of Information,Public Relations and Cultural Affairs Department.

Another officer,accused of corruption and,at present enjoying a plum post,is Special Secretary (Agriculture) Sandeep Garg. During his stint as the Additional Director (North) in Anti-Adulteration Cell of the Ministry of Petroleum,Garg was arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 12 lakh at his residence. A case under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act was also registered against him.

Vidya Dhar,who was promoted to the IAS cadre from the HCS,and is known for his proximity to former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala,is also an accused in the JBT teachers’ recruitment scam. Ironically,the complainant in the case,IAS officer Sanjiv Kumar was booked by the state government in the textbooks’ scam. Though acquitted by a court,he is still under suspension.

Another officer embroiled in the JBT Teacher’s scam is Harbaksh Singh who was at the helm of affairs during the Chautala regime as managing director of Haryana Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC). He faced CBI heat in the scam is kept at bay by the present government. However,yet another officer who was in the thick of the controversy during the scam,the then home secretary,Chandigarh Administration,Ram Niwas has now found favour with the government.

Ironically,the present Home Secretary,Chandigarh Administration,Anil Kumar (IAS) too courted controversy after another IAS officer,Ashok Khemka,accused him and S C Goel of being involved in a politician-babu nexus in the matter of land acquisition in Gurgaon recently. Khemka has recommended that they be booked in the case,but the state government has ignored the note.

The of the HCS officers booked under various provisions of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act is also long and includes BB Kaushik,Satbir Singh Jangu,Vivek Padam Singh and Vivek Atray.

Three — Deveshwar Dyal,Jeet Singh Mehra and Hawa Singh — were convicted by various courts and are under suspension. Those who retired and were booked include JP Thaman,AN Ichhapunjani,RC Powaria,RS Chahal and AP Jain.