M A I N   N E W S

3-day police remand for Garcha
PTU Director arrested, ex-VC booked
Tribune Reporters

Vigilance officials seen with the recovered currency notes. — Photo Inderjeet Verma

Later, talking to reporters outside the Magistrate’s residence, Mr Garcha alleged that the Vigilance Bureau sleuths had threatened to eliminate him and forced him to sign blank papers. “I have threat to my life from the Vigilance officials,” he said, adding that the Congress candidate who had lost the last Assembly poll had hatched a conspiracy in connivance with the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh. “Capt Amarinder Singh is using the Vigilance Bureau as a tool to implicate me in a false case of embezzlement of the PTU funds even as there is no role of a minister since the university is an autonomous body. Moreover, I am being punished for airing my views against the wrongdoings of the Congress government,” he alleged.

“I will immediately resign from politics if the allegations against me are proved in a court of law,” he added.

Mr Jagdish Singh Garcha’s son Parminder Singh, Dr H.S. Gurm, former Vice-Chancellor of Punjab Technical University, and Mr Amarjit Singh Grewal, Director of the PTU, were booked by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Saturday while Mr Grewal was arrested from Ludhiana.

Mr Garcha and Mr Grewal were reportedly arrested from their respective residences in Gurdev Nagar and on the Punjab Agricultural University campus in Ludhiana by the bureau sleuths from Jalandhar, while Dr Gurm and Mr Parminder Singh, could not be arrested. Mr Garcha and Mr Grewal were brought to Jalandhar at about 12.30 p.m. for being produced in the court.

Dr Gurm, it was learnt, got himself admitted to the PGI, Chandigarh, but he was put under surveillance there itself, said the bureau sources. However, the officials were tight-lipped about it.

When contacted, Mr Lok Nath, SP, Vigilance Bureau, Jalandhar, said the parties which had been dispatched to arrest Dr Gurm and Mr Parminder Singh had not returned as yet.

LUDHIANA: A joint team of the state Vigilance Bureau, Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Jalandhar today arrested Akali Dal MLA and former Minister for Technical Education Jagdish Singh Garcha from his residence at Gurdev Nagar early today, besides raiding his three houses and an office in different areas of the city.

Mr Garcha has been accused of receiving kickbacks in the allotments of several computer centres through the Punjab Technical University during his tenure as the Technical Education Minister. He has also been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Vigilance sources said the cases registered at Jalandhar yesterday were under Section 420, 120-B of the IPC and Sections 13(1) (D) with 13(2) of the PC Act. The cases were registered on the recommendation of the Jalandhar Vigilance Bureau.

The Vigilance team conducted simultaneous raids at the houses of Mr Jagdish Singh Garcha, his brother Sukhdev Singh Garcha in Gurdev Nagar, and that of Mr Mann Singh Garcha at Dholewal Chowk, besides one of their offices on the Pakhowal road at about 5:30 a.m.

Senior vice-president, Shiromani Akali Dal, and liquor baron Mann Singh Garcha, while talking to The Tribune over the phone, termed the police action as political vendetta aimed at harming SAD, especially in the forthcoming SGPC elections. He said the family was prepared for such a move as they had been receiving feelers about it.

Mr Mann Singh Garcha claimed that action was taken against them after they had declined to join the camp of Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, former SGPC President, and Mr Ravi Inder Singh.

The relatives of Mr Garcha appeared tense but composed during the raids. When a Tribune team reached the house early in the morning, all female members of the family were present there, besides one of the sons of Mr Sukhdev Singh Garcha. The family members cooperated with the Vigilance team.

Mrs Daljit Kaur, wife of Mr Jagdish Singh Garcha, told The Tribune that her husband had got up early to leave for Chandigarh regarding a SAD meeting when the Vigilance team descended on their house and arrested him. Mr Garcha insisted on taking his bath before going with the officials. He was taken to some undisclosed place. There was neither any resistance from him or any of his relatives.

The Vigilance team has recovered some documents regarding the setting up of an educational trust at Bhutte village, besides recovering Rs 3.5 lakh and some mobile phones from the house of Mr Sukhdev Singh Garcha.

The Garcha family was allegedly close to Mr Sukhwant Singh Tillu, Director, Malaud Land Mortgage Bank, who was arrested on corruption charges by the state Vigilance Bureau. He reportedly made a statement before the police that the Garchas’ had grabbed several acres in Ludhiana and adjoining areas.

Meanwhile, SP (Vigilance), Ludhiana, G.S. Sandhu, has declined to either confirm or deny the arrest of Dr Amarjit Grewal, Director of the Punjab Technical University, from the city here today.

CHANDIGARH: Mr A.P. Pandey, Chief Director-cum-ADGP, Vigilance Bureau, Punjab, in a press note issued here said Mr H.S. Gurm, former Vice-Chancellor PTU, Jalandhar, and Mr A.S. Grewal, Director, PTU in connivance with Mr Garcha had caused a huge loss amounting to Rs 11,51,84,446 to PTU through various MoUs with regard to the opening of computer and technical education study centres in the state and at national level.

Through these MoUs they helped Mr Parminder Singh Garcha, who was indirectly looking after the affairs of Bymantec Infoways, which was providing study centre for PTU, he added.

Mr Pandey further said a Vigilance team reached the house of Mr Garcha and recovered fixed deposit (later withdrawn) amounting to Rs 90.50 lakh of colleges, Rs 3,51,200 and a computer from his office at Garcha Enterprises in Ludhiana.