Chandigarh, January 18
The Haryana Government has decided to recommend a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in awarding a Rs 8-crore deal to a Gujarat-based firm during whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka’s tenure as the Managing Director of the Haryana Warehousing Corporation in 2009.

Haryana Chief Secretary SC Choudhary today said the state government had decided to order a CBI inquiry on a complaint made by RTI activist Ravinder Kumar. “The complaint, which was received on August 9, 2013, was forwarded to the Agriculture Department, which prima facie found truth in the allegations and recommended an independent probe.

In fact, the complainant had also demanded a CBI probe,” claimed Choudhary. Sources said the Home Department’s proposal for a CBI probe was approved by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

The Hooda government had initiated a probe against Khemka on the basis of the complaint filed by the RTI activist that the officer had changed the terms and conditions of the contract without the approval of the competent authority.

The timing of the decision to recommend a CBI probe has raised many an eyebrow since the matter could have been probed by the State Vigilance Bureau, implying Hooda Government’s intentions to gun for the officer.