M A I N   N E W S

For Rs 20 govt fee, patwari earned then SSP’s ire, reveals inquiry
Kanchan Vasdev/TNS

Chandigarh, July 28
On November 19, 2009, senior superintendent of police (SSP), VB, Patiala range, Shiv Kumar Sharma (now retired) asked revenue patwari Mohan Singh Bhedpur for a revenue record of his land in Fatehgarh Sahib’s Roorki village. Mohan Singh delivered a copy of the record to the officer and asked for the government fee of Rs 20. That’s when all hell broke loose.

In the months that followed, the patwari was implicated in a corruption case pertaining to the paddy scam in Punsup (Punjab State Civil Supplies Corporation). In February this year, he was tortured, stripped and sent to jail for five days.

As per the probe report, the six indicted serving and former VB officials connived to help Shiv Sharma settle a score with Mohan Singh because he had demanded mandatory fee of Rs 20 for providing a copy of the revenue record. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had ordered an FIR against them yesterday.

As per the inquiry report submitted by the Chief Minister’s former principal secretary, Kahan Singh Pannu, SSP Shiv Kumar was angered when the patwari demanded the required fee of the government from him.

Mohan Singh had also complained against Shiv Kumar for forcibly occupying 14 biswas of land adjoining his purchased piece of land measuring 12 biswas. Shiv Kumar had ordered Mohan to mutate the illegally-owned property in the former's name, but he had refused to do so.

An angry Shiv Kumar wanted a vigilance probe against Mohan on October 1, 2011 on the basis of a complaint by Kaka Singh from Bhat Majra village. Interestingly, the complainant referred to an incident that took place 14 years before the complaint was made.

The then Joint Director-Administration Surinder Pal Singh ordered a fresh complaint against Mohan Singh. This complaint was never presented before the committee constituted by the Chief Director of Vigilance Bureau.

The dealing hand of the Vigilance Bureau head office, while putting up this complaint, wrote that the Joint Director-Administration (Surinder Pal Singh) had ordered to put up the letter received from SSP Vigilance Bureau, Patiala, and file it.

After registration of this fresh complaint, the Patiala Vigilance Bureau appointed Ishar Singh, then a sub-inspector, as Inquiry Officer in the case and ordered that the probe be conducted under the supervision of Jaspal Singh, the then SP, Vigilance Bureau, Patiala. Sub-inspector Ishar Singh started the inquiry against Mohan Singh on November 1, 2010.

Kaka Singh alleged that the patwari had goofed-up 14 years ago while preparing revenue records of his land in Bhat Majra village of Fatehgarh Sahib. During the course of the probe, SI Ishar Singh summoned all records of the patwari, including his property details, salary received during the last 15 years, arrears, LIC policies, and advance taken out of GP Fund or any other gifts.

Though the complaint pertained to land in Bhat Majra village, SI Ishar Singh sought the jamabandis, sale deeds and mutation register of Seona village in Patiala district since 1985. He even sought measurement of Mohan Singh’s house in Tripuri Saida from the Patiala XEN. Before the XEN sent the report to the Vigilance Bureau, Inquiry Officer SI Ishar Singh proved the charges against Mohan Singh and sent the report to the SSP Vigilance Bureau, Patiala.

In January, Mohan Singh was booked by VB for large scale embezzlement in paddy procured by the government. SSP VB, Moga, Jaspal Singh (earlier posted as SP Vigilance Bureau, Patiala. and who was supervising the inquiry against the Patwari and was later promoted as SSP VB and posted at Ferozepur) assigned the fresh probe to Banarsi Dass, SP Vigilance Bureau, Moga.