WITH some of its leading activists facing various land-related allegations,India Against Corruption (IAC) today said the charges against Prashant Bhushan,Mayank Gandhi and Anjali Damania would be probed by a panel of three retired judges. Arvind Kejriwal,however,ruled out suspending any of them from the IACs proposed political party till the inquiry is completed. Kejriwal said the three judges former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Justice A P Shah,Justice (retd) B H Marlapalle and Justice (retd) Jaspal Singh are his partys internal Lokpal. They would be requested to expeditiously inquire into these charges and give their report as early as possible,within three months, said the IAC. The cases will be presented to the panel by Monday. The ombudsmen would be requested to examine in depth the allegations and material against the IAC members,their defence and give a report on whether the allegations show any illegal or immoral act being committed by the IAC members. If any member is found guilty of any illegal or immoral activity he would be expected to resign from the proposed party, said the IAC. Asked if the trio would be suspended since his outfit had demanded Union Law Minister Salman Khurshids resignation following allegations that his trust had misused government funds,Kejriwal replied: They (the three IAC members) cant influence the probe. Salmanji can do that. They are not holding any posts. In any case,we will ask the Lokpal. If the Lokpal say they should be removed,we have no problem. The question of removal comes when they can influence the probe,destroy the evidence and influence the witnesses. Do you think Anjali Damania can influence Justice A P Shah? He said anyone can send whatever evidence they have to the panel. While Kejriwal did not elaborate on the allegations,he said that whenever the IAC raises an issue of corruption,it is asked about Bhushans land in Palampur and Gandhis links with builders. Kejriwal claimed that the IAC had earlier asked the government to set up an independent inquiry to investigate the allegations against its members. Unfortunately,the government has been more interested in mud-slinging than setting up an independent probe, he said,adding that the three retired judges have a reputation of high integrity and independence. All the three IAC members welcomed the investigation. Responding to allegations,Bhushan said he purchased land in Himachal Pradesh to build an educational institution for which the authorities had given permission. The government has been making all kinds of allegations,fabricating things to defame us. So we had said we are willing to face any probe by the goverment or any independent body. The government does not do anything in this direction,so we said we will form our own ombudsman, said Bhushan.
