The Hindu : Other States / Punjab News : Vigilance Bureau denies vendetta charges

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Tuesday, Oct 26, 2004

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Other States - Punjab

Vigilance Bureau denies vendetta charges

By Our Staff Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, OCT. 25. While the Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, has sought a detailed report on the entire episode, Punjab's Vigilance Bureau has refuted allegations that it had acted under pressure while proceeding against the kin of Jaskaran Singh, on whose petition the Punjab and Haryana High Court recently quashed the selection of Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs).

According to reports received here, Capt. Amarinder Singh, said in Ferozepur, that he would seek a detailed report on the detention of a senior citizen in the case.

He however, denied any pressure on the Vigilance officers and charged the opposition of trying to make political mileage without even inquiring the facts.

Talking to reporters here, the Chief Director of the Bureau, A.P. Pandey said that the report in a national English daily was devoid of basic facts. He said while petitioner Jaskaran Singh, had filed the PIL before the High Court in the DSPs' recruitment case on February 13, 2004, the complaint against his father and brother had been received on December 1, 2003.

Mr. Pandey clarified that Vigilance had received a complaint that Jaskaran Singh's father, Kheta Singh, who is a Namardar and brother Balkaran Singh, a Panch in the native village Bhagsar, along with a Patwari, Gurmail Singh, had attested documents with fictitious information to help a woman of their village, Partap Kaur, to avail a pension since February 1997, while she was not entitled to receive the same.

The complaint had been filed by three persons of the same village, who had also submitted a relevant statement on an affidavit.

Mr. Pandey asserted that after thorough investigations and the recommendation of the SP Vigilance Bureau, Ferozepur and DIG Jalandhar, an FIR was registered on October 8, 2004. He said it was not the only case, where the Vigilance had proceeded against those who had fraudulently attested wrong antecedents of individuals not entitled for pensions.

He said the Vigilance had registered a case in Kapurthala district, where 1200 such cases were reported, while a similar probe was on at Shahkot.

Meanwhile, the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Parkash Singh Badal came down heavily on the Chief Minister for letting loose "a reign of terror and vendetta'' against the family members, friends and counsel of Jaskaran Singh.

"This is just one instance in which Captain Amarinder Singh and his cronies have been using the brutal might of the state not only to promote their personal vested interests but also to murder the rule of law and administration of justice," he said through a statement issued from the party headquarters here.

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