Dharamsala, November 5
Adding another dimension to the ongoing tussle within the Shanta and Dhumal factions in Himachal, a senior bureaucrat has accused the state police chief of getting a false case registered against him.

In a letter to former chief minister and BJP national vice-president Shanta Kumar, Kangra divisional commissioner Sanjay Gupta, who is facing corruption charges, has alleged that a false case was registered against him at the insistence of Director General of Police DS Minhas.

In the letter (a copy of which is with The Tribune), Sanjay Gupta alleged that a case was registered against him though the Principal Secretary (Home and Vigilance) clearly opined that no prima facie case had been made out against him in a letter dated August 25, 2011. He alleged that Minhas was still trying to influence various authorities against him using his office.

Gupta wrote to Shanta Kumar after his loyalists were quoted as stating that the senior BJP leader had vehemently opposed reinstatement of State Drug Controller and IAS Sanjay Gupta at a core group meeting, but his opinion was disregarded, following which he did not attend any meeting. He urged Shanta Kumar to withdraw his statement against him as misquoted. Gupta has stated Shanta Kumar had as CM in 1992 ordered a probe against DS Minhas, then Shimla Municipal Commissioner, and his family for possessing ill-gotten properties. Then Shimla Divisional Commissioner, Ravi Dingra, had indicted DS Minhas. The matter, Gupta alleged, was brushed under the carpet after Shanta demitted office and even record of the inquiry report was destroyed. He has urged Shanta Kumar to get the case again DGP Minhas reopened.

The DGP, however, refuted Sanjay Gupta’s charges. “Sanjay Gupta is himself facing three cases of corruption. The first was registered when I was on deputation to the Union Government. In the second case, which was a trap case, he was allegedly caught red-handed. The probe into the third case of disproportionate assets is still on,” he said. When asked why Sanjay Gupta was targeting him, the DGP said it could be due to the fact that two corruption cases were registered against Gupta during his stint as DG Vigilance. HP Government has written to the Centre seeking action against Gupta.