Behind Punjab govt scandal is a land dispute,a buried complaint
CBI says PS to minister sat on complaint involving factions of mechanics group.
A land dispute,a complaint buried by a ministers personal secretary on the promise of a payoff,and phone taps suggesting bribes reaching a top minister the corruption charges that have hit the Akali Dal-BJP government in the state threaten to ensnare government officials,an MLA and two ministers,including the No. 3 in the Cabinet.
It began as an innocuous complaint by one faction of the Punjab Motor Mechanics Association against another over illegal sale of prime land spread over 14 acres in Zirakpur near Chandigarh,worth Rs 130 crore. The complaint was sent to one minister who had little to do with the matter. When he marked it to another minister handling the portfolio,his PS never forwarded it,allegedly striking a deal instead with the rival faction to bury the matter for a payment of Rs 1.5 crore.
Following the arrest of two of the accused red-handed,with reportedly Rs 15 lakh in cash and cheques worth Rs 1.5 crore that had not been made out to anyone,Ministers Swarn Ram and Manorajan Kalia have been questioned. The CBI,which is investigating the case,today also arrested Swarn Rams PS Bhag Singh.
BJP MLA Raj Khurana,who as chief parliamentary secretary held a post equivalent to the rank of a minister,was earlier arrested and is in judicial custody. On Sunday,Khurana resigned from the post.
The money was recovered from outside Khuranas residence and one of the conversations that the CBI has on tape allegedly talks of money being paid through Khurana to Kalia the senior-most BJP leader in Punjab and the No. 3 in the Cabinet after the two Badals.
The ball was set rolling by a complaint filed by a faction of the Punjab Motor Mechanics Association,accusing a rival group of illegally selling the Zirakpur land belonging to the association.
The faction,led by Manmohan Singh,demanded an inquiry into the deal and action against the rival group. The complaint,for some unexplained reasons,was sent to Swarna Ram,who could have not taken any action himself. Ram apparently wrote a note on the complaint to the minister concerned,Kalia,for appropriate action.
However,the note and the complaint never reached Kalia. Instead,one of the accused,Devinder Singh,a Class III government official who has been on long leave,allegedly tipped off the other faction led by Manpreet Singh and demanded Rs 2 crore for getting the complaint file closed. The deal was allegedly later struck at Rs 1.5 crore.
The police believe Devinder was in cahoots with Swarna Rams PS.
Manpreet complained to the CBI. In order to catch the accused red-handed,he accompanied Devinder to the residence of Khurana.
The CBI claims to have recorded some conversations between Devinder and Manpreet regarding the deal,including about money reaching Kalia. However,there are no records of any conversation with Kalia. Even Khurana is allegedly on tape only as far as calling Manpreet and Devinder over to his house.
The CBI raided the official residence of Khurana on April 4,while Devinder and Manpreet were there,and as per its claim,recovered Rs 15 lakh in cash from a vehicle belonging to Devinder parked outside. The CBI said it also found cheques totalling an amount of Rs 1.5 crore from the vehicle. The agency believes this was the money paid to Khurana,and later placed in Devinders vehicle.
Khurana was placed under arrest along with Devinder. While the CBI stated that it had found nothing incriminating from Khuranas possession in its seizure report,it later said a photocopy of Manpreets complaint along with Swarna Rams noting was recovered from his residence.
Khurana resigned as CPS a day after his arrest,reportedly at the behest of the partys central leadership. Kalia,who was questioned by the CBI on Monday for over an hour,said the CBI had no case. He denied knowing either Devinder or Manpreet,and took the line that as no note had reached him,there was no question of him acting on it. In any case,he said,the matter was subjudice and he could not have acted on it.
Swarna Ram too said he did not know either Devinder or Manpreet,though he admitted that his PS was on friendly terms with Devinder.
The CBI,however,believes that the very fact that the note did not reach Kalia,despite an endorsement by Swarna Ram,was proof enough of some deal. Apart from the recorded conversations between Manpreet and Devinder,it has no evidence of the ministers Swarna Ram and Kalia or Khurana actually asking for a bribe or of money changing hands.
Further complicating the case is the credibility of both Manpreet and Devinder. They were good friends in the past,and complainant Manpreet himself has been convicted earlier in a theft case as well as for cheating. He is known to have past association with the CBI and was a complainant in a case that led to the agency arresting a police official a couple of years ago. The police are considering the possibility of Manpreet nursing a grudge against Devinder.
Interestingly,the Punjab Chief Secretary has complained to the CBI about its hasty action in the matter. In a stern note,the Chief Secretary said sufficient care and caution was not exercised in verifying the reasons given by a co-accused in the case.
Unanswered questions:
If Local Bodies and Industries Minister Manoranjan Kalia was part of the deal,why did the CBI step in to make arrests before the bribe money reached him?
If complainant Manpreet brought money for CPS Raj Khurana to be diverted to Kalia why did the agency not recover it from him? Instead,it was shown as seized money from a vehicle parked outside his residence.
How come a major part of the bribe was paid in cheques,not payable to anyone in particular?
Why did the CBI state initially in its seizure document that no incriminating document was recovered from Khurana?
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