Sugar mill scam report submitted

CHANDIGARH, Oct 6: The final report of the inquiry against the role of certain Punjab Government officials, including certain bureaucrats...

CHANDIGARH, Oct 6: The final report of the inquiry against the role of certain Punjab Government officials, including certain bureaucrats, in privatisation of four sugar mills in Punjab was submitted before the Punjab and Haryana High Court today.

The inquiry, conducted by an IPS officer of the state on deputation from Uttar pradesh, Gurdarshan Singh, when asked stated before the court that his inquiry report was complete in all respects and was more or less on the same lines as his interim report submitted to the court earlier.

The inquiring officer also informed the court that one more Punjab officer had been indicted in the investigations made by him and added that the officer was liable for departmental action, for his role in the sale of sugar mills to private parties. During his interim report submitted earlier, he had indicted atleast 13 officers of the state, including senior bureaucrats.

Justice Swatantar Kumar of the court, while taking note of the inquiry report, directed for sealing the same until further directions by the court. He also directed that no one was required to comment on the report, even as he did not grant permission for inspecting the report by any of the counsels.

The inquiring officer, Gurdarshan Singh, has meanwhile, sought the court8217;s clearance for his repatriation to his parent state of Uttar Pradesh since the inquiry report entrusted to him was complete. He also pleaded before the court for its indulgence in safeguarding his career.

The matter had come up before the Punjab and Haryana High Court after it took suo motu notice of the plea of sugarcane growers who were not paid money by the private parties purchasing these sugar mills, after the matter came up before Justice V. K. Jhanji who was on a visit to Hoshiarpur in 1996. Four sugar mills including those at Dasuya and Pattran were sold to private parties, possession of which was allegedly handed over without taking any money.

Later, various departments had staked claims on their pending money from these sugar mills and the state government had given an undertaking to the court that the matter pertaining to the sale of sugar mills would be investigated properly.

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The interim Vigilance report had indicted former PSIDC managing director P S Bajwa and 12 other officers were also involved whose conduct was to be investigated in a detailed manner. At one stage it was felt that certain bureaucrats were being bailed out of the scam, after which it was directed by the court that the manner of the investigation should be left to the investigating officer.