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Journalism of Courage
Be it disproportionate assets case,teachers recruitment scam,Haryana Public Service Commission scam,shielding of S P S Rathore,the former Haryana DGP who molested Ruchika Girhotra,or allegedly masterminding the murder of a Congress leader the Chautala family is in the midst of controversies.
Om Prakash Chautala,former Haryana CM,has been severely criticised by S C Girhotra,Ruchikas father,for shielding Rathore. In another blow to the Chautala family,the CBI has filed a chargesheet indicting Chautalas of amassing Rs 1,467 crore worth disproportionate assets. Here are a few of the cases which are pending against Om Prakash Chautala and his son Abhay Singh Chautala in various courts,including the Delhi High Court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court:
Disproportionate assets
Indicting the former CM,his two sons,Abhay and Ajay,and their wives for amassing disproportionate assets worth Rs 1,467 crore,the CBI has filed a chargesheet in a Delhi Court. The CBI has submitted that Om Prakash Chautala and his family acquired more than 80 properties in different parts of India from 1993 to 2006.
After more than three years of investigation,the agency also found that besides running half-a-dozen Trusts and societies,the Chautalas own 12 firms and companies. The alleged properties owned by the Chautalas include eight hotels,farm houses in Delhi,Himachal Pradesh and Dabwali in Haryana,18 commercial buildings,industrial plots,11 houses/flats in Delhi,Chandigarh and Gurgaon,four commercial plots and 25 plots of land.
It has been alleged by the CBI that Chautalas sons,Ajay and Abhay,hatched a criminal conspiracy to acquire assets disproportionate to their known sources of income. Ajays wife Naina and Abhays wife Kanta have been charged with abetting the crime.
Nine associates of the Chautalas Chet Ram Kalera,Om Prakash,Abhimanyu Singh,Hari Kishan Sharma,Ajay Pal Kaswan,Ranvir Singh,Mahinderpal Singh,Jatinder Singh and Yadvinder Singh have also allegedly abetted the offence by allowing the family to acquire disproportionate assets,the CBI has said. A large number of properties are in the names of Dushyant and Digvijay (sons of Ajay) and Karan and Arjun (sons of Abhay).
Teachers recruitment
The CBI has filed a chargesheet in the Rs 100-crore scandal allegedly involving Om Prakash Chautala. The scam pertains to the year 2003. The chargesheet names his son and former MP,Ajay Chautala,two IAS officers and 56 others. According to the CBI,the accused used forged documents to appoint 3,206 junior basic trained teachers after taking hefty bribes from them,which could collectively run into millions of rupees.
Sanjiv Kumar,the then director of primary education,and Chautalas former Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Vidya Dhar are the two IAS officers named in the chargesheet,which was filed on June 6,2008. The CBI had alleged that the appointments were made on the basis of a second set of interviews list prepared at the behest of the former CM,his son Ajay,Dhar,political advisor Sher Singh Badsami,and primary education director Sanjiv Kumar,who had played an active role in the process. The case was registered on the basis of the Supreme Court order of November 2003.
HPSC recruitment
The manipulations in the answer-sheets of successful candidates in the Haryana Civil Services selections held in 2002,during the regime of Chautala,is another case pending against the former CM in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The issue came to light when Karan Singh Dalal,MLA,and two unsuccessful candidates filed a PIL in the High Court. Appearing on behalf of the petitioner,advocate Mohan Jain highlighted the alleged irregularities committed in the answer-sheets of the selected candidates.
The principle allegation by the petitioner is that those candidates who were awarded 80 per cent marks in the written examination were given 20 per cent marks in interview and vice-versa. Showing the answer-sheets of successful candidates,Jain had emphasised on the answer-sheets of Kuldhir Singh,son of Sher Singh Badsami,the then political advisor to Chautala. It was alleged that that Kuldhir had attempted four questions,but marks were given for five and many other discrepancies were also pointed out. The petitioner alleged that Chautala had manipulated the HPSC exam to recruit people known to him.
Congress leaders murder
The lackadaisical attitude of the Haryana Police in investigating the murder case of Chand Singh Brar,former Congress leader,is under the scanner of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The case assumes significance since the petitioner,Jagga Singh Brar,brother of deceased,has accused Abhay Singh Chautala of masterminding the murder. Dissatisfied with the investigation conducted by the Haryana Police,who gave a clean chit to Chautala,the HC has passed strictures against the Haryana Police and directed it record Abhays statements.
Ruchika molestation
S C Girhotra has accused Chautala of shielding S P S Rathore,former DGP,who has been awarded six months imprisonment along with a penalty of Rs 1,000 for molesting Ruchika Girhotra. Rather than taking action against Rathore,the Chautala government had promoted him.
