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Probe into liquor flow at SAD rally indicts Ranike’s son 
Aman Sood
Tribune News Service

Patiala, April 21
The final probe report on allegations of liquor distribution to woo voters at the March 20 SAD rally in Ghanaur has nailed Punjab Animal Husbandry Minister Gulzar Singh Ranike’s son and Excise and Taxation Inspector (ETI) Bhupinderpal Singh for “dereliction” and has recommended “action against him and the liquor contractor”. Bhupinderpal was transferred on the Election Commission’s (EC) recommendation last week.

As per the report submitted to the EC by Patiala District Electoral Officer (DEO) Priyank Bharti, Bhupinderpal Singh allegedly gave misleading information initially to the DEO. He claimed his team could not establish whether or not the liquor brand shown in The Tribune photographs was sold from the same Ghanaur vend after its checking.

Today’s report supersedes the earlier clean chit given by Patiala ex-Deputy Commissioner (DC) Gopal Krishan Singh. He had said the liquor vend did not sell the brand shown in the photographs. Later, the Election Commission had shifted the DC after the Congress alleged he was working under government pressure.

The latest report accessed by The Tribune recommends strict action against Ghanaur Excise and Taxation Inspector Bhupinder Singh for dereliction of duty and action, as per excise rules, against the Ghanaur liquor contractor. “We have held ETI Bhupinder Singh guilty for withholding facts from the probing team and have recommended serious action against him,” Bharti said, but refused to reveal more. The report concludes “liquor was used at the election rally in Ghanaur on March 20”, but failed to establish if it was provided by the organisers.

The SAD has maintained no liquor was distributed at the venue of the rally held by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in support of its Patiala candidate, Deepinder Dhillon.

“I had asked the police to identify the persons. Once they were identified, we based our report on their statements. They admitted to buying liquor outside the rally venue, but maintained they were not paid to do so by the organisers,” he said.

Photographs showed two persons, one of whom admitted they had come to the rally with friends and later pooled in money to buy liquor. “As we had more boxes in the pictures provided by The Tribune, the persons said in their statement that the boxes were lying there and they filled them with samosas. It clearly meant more such liquor was purchased from that particular vend,” Bharti said.

Excise and taxation officials had initially given a clean chit to the liquor contractor and vend, claiming the brand shown in the pictures had not been sold for the past two months. “However, in the fresh report they (excise officials) admitted the particular brand was sold on that day. This is contrary to their earlier stand,” Priyank Bharti said.

Initially, then Patiala DEO, Gopal Krishan Singh, had given a clean chit to the organisers stating that media reports did not establish the identity of the persons carrying liquor cartons. The initial probe by Gopal Krishan Singh was completed 24 hours after The Tribune highlighted on March 21 how liquor was distributed among the crowd at SAD’s Ghanaur rally. Punjab Chief Electoral Officer VK Singh said he would take strict action against officers involved in the clean chit and also against those who “planned the alleged cover-up”. “Let me go through the entire report and we will forward it for further action,” he said.

When contacted, Bhupinderpal Singh said he had checked the records of the Ghanaur vend along with his seniors and he could not comment on the action recommended against him by the DEO. “My seniors know about the records I made available to the probing officer. If I am the son of a Cabinet minister, it does not mean I will favour anyone. All excise reports submitted by us were based on facts. You can check the same with my seniors,” he told TNS.

Patiala assistant excise and taxation commissioner LS Jakhar said photographs were made available to him a few days back by the probing officer and explained to them what action was taken.

The sequence of events