Chandigarh: The Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Thursday arrested IFS officer Vishal Chauhan in a major operation. A corruption case had been registered against the Indian Forest Service officer on July 2. Two others have also been arrested by the Vigilance Bureau in connection with the same case.
An official of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau said that the bureau had questioned a Forest Division Mohali Guramanpreet Singh, who is already in their custody and a contractor Harminder Singh, alias Hummy. The Bureau, after interrogating Hami in connection with the corruption case, arrested him.
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The three conspirators arrested in the scam, i.e., Chauhan, Gurmanpreet Singh and Hummy, had demanded a huge amount of money as a bribe from Davinder Singh Sandhu. They threatened to launch an investigation against him before demanding a bribe, after which action was taken.
A spokesperson of the Vigilance Bureau said that Davinder Singh, son of Retired Colonel Baljit Singh Sandhu, lives in Chandigarh. He owns approximately 100 acres of land under his company name in the villages of Masol and Tanda situated in the Majri sub-tehsil of Mohali district. Some parts of the land he owns come under Section 4 of the PLPA Act, 1900.
The spokesperson revealed that a Range officer, Ranjodh Singh filed a complaint against Davinder Singh's father Col. BS Sandhu and his office bearer Tarsem Singh. A complaint was registered against them for allegedly causing damage to flora and fauna on April 24. On April 27, Ranjodh Singh informed Davinder about the complaint and asked him to speak to the concerned officers or an FIR would be registered against him.
On April 30, Davinder Singh met with Hummy and Gurmanpreet to discuss the complaint that Ranjodh Singh had filed against him. Davinder recorded the entire conversation which went on for nearly an hour and a half. Upon insistence from Hummy, Davinder handed over a packet containing Rs 2 lakh to Gurmanpreet Singh. The two of them assured him that they would speak to Vishal Chauhan about the project and discuss the remaining amount to be paid at a later date.
Hummy contacted Davinder Singh a few days later and informed him that Gurmanpreet had spoken to IFS officer Vishal Singh. As per the discussion between the two, if Davinder Singh wanted the project to begin, he would have to pay an initial amount of Rs 1 crore, with monthly instalments of Rs 10 lakh and give the officer Rs 5 lakh from whatever land he would sell. Singh refused to pay this amount.
Davinder Singh filed a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Helpline after which Vigilance Bureau arrested Gurmanpreet Singh and Hummy. A case was also registered against Davinder's father at the Nawab Gaon Police Station on May 9 under Section 4 of the PLPA Act, 1900. On May 10, Vishal Chauhan directed his subordinates to include Davinder Singh's name in the lawsuit and launch an investigation against him.
