The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Friday, June 20, 2003, Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

M A I N N E W S

DRAINAGE SCAM
File challan, Badal dares CM
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 19
Former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today dared the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, to make the “so-called drainage scandal a test case against him (Badal)” and file a challan in the court.

“If the court holds me guilty in this case, I will accept all other allegations that have been levelled by Capt Amarinder Singh against me regarding my property etc,” said Mr Badal.

Mr Badal said he had endorsed the note on the file of the then Chief Secretary, who wanted that before taking any action against the engineers involved in the alleged scandal, they should be asked to join the inquiry to explain their position.

“As I agreed with the Chief Secretary’s noting, the departmental inquiry was held which found the engineers concerned guilty. When the file again came to me after the inquiry, I passed the order that the officers concerned should be chargesheeted and action taken against them,” said Mr Badal. “How did I shield them, I fail to understand,” he added.

He said that Mr Rajesh Chhabra, Principal Secretary, Irrigation, did not take action against the officers concerned. He said that now the government was putting pressure on Mr Chhabra to make him approver in the case. He said that the government enacted yesterday a big drama to defame him in connection with this case.

“The government passed the information to the media as certain police officers came to my house to ask me whether the file was signed by me,” added Mr Badal. “ All this was done to spread the news around through TV channels that Mr Badal was interrogated by the police,” he said. “It is difficult for me to tell everyone about the truth with regard to the so-called scandal,” he added.

He said that the drainage project, that was financed by NABARD, was worth Rs 300 crore. Out of the amount, Rs 200 crore went to farmers whose land was acquired for digging the drains. About 412-km-long drains were dug and 280 tubewells sunk to remove water from the waterlogged area.

Around 150 big and small bridges were constructed as part of the project. A number of aqueducts were also constructed, he added. This project was hailed as “big success” story by NABARD and shown to the teams brought from Gujarat and other states, claimed Mr Badal.

He said the policemen, who came to his house yesterday, stayed only for 10 minutes with him. They did not tell him that they were not satisfied with my answers and would come again to question me. “I know officers are being forced to take action against me and my family,” he added.

About Mr Narottam Singh Dhillon, Mr Badal said the police tortured him physically and mentally. “He was made to remove his clothes and lay down on the floor. I am shocked to know that the Vigilance Bureau could behave in such a manner,” he said. “I have information that the police has kept explosives and other material ready to show it as recovery from Mr Narottam Singh,” he added. When asked if the police behaved in a similar manner with him, Mr Badal said he was prepared to bear all that.

SC declines plea of Badal’s former PA
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 19
The Supreme Court today refused to grant any protection against arrest to Hardeep Singh, who was OSD of a former Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal. He has been charged with acquiring assets disproportionate to his known sources of income while working with him.

Hardeep Singh, who has “gone underground” after his bail petition was rejected by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on April 23, had filed a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court against the dismissal order and sought anticipatory bail from the apex court.

Disposing of the SLP, a vacation Bench comprising Mr Justice R.C. Lahoti and Mr Justice Brijesh Kumar gave him liberty to approach the High Court again for such a relief and raise points of defence that, according to his counsel, had not been “considered” by the High Court while rejecting his bail petition.

The apex court said the petitioner was at liberty to move the vacation Bench of the High Court to seek the relief sought by him.

The direction was issued by the Bench after recording the submissions of Hardeep Singh’s counsel that the High Court had not taken into consideration the affidavits filed by the petitioner’s wife and uncle, who had especially flown to India from the USA for this purpose on court’s order.

The counsel further argued that the High Court had also not considered that Hardeep Singh had joined the probe by appearing before the investigating officer (IO) on 11 occasions before failing to do so due to illness when his bail plea had been heard.

While rejecting the bail petition, the High Court had said his custodial interrogation was necessary and the petitioner “appeared” to have not presented himself for interrogation and show his “bonafide” before the IO.

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau had registered an FIR against him on August 29, 2002, under the Prevention of Corruption Act at the Bureau’s police station in SAS Nagar alleging that, during his posting with the former Chief Minister, he had made movable and immovable properties worth crores of rupees, which was much beyond his known sources of income.