Chandigarh, March 24
Even as the Punjab vigilance bureau was gearing up to question, and possibly arrest, former Punjab DGP S.S. Virk as part of its ongoing investigation into the case of alleged duping of a war widow by property sharks, Virk was today granted reprieve by a Ropar court.

Ropar district and sessions judge Rekha Mittal told the Punjab police to give a two-day notice to the officer before arresting him.

Fearing arrest in the case, Virk had moved the court for grant of anticipatory bail, alleging that his name was being dragged into the matter only at the behest of the leadership of a political party. The plea was filed through advocate Charanjit Singh Bakshi. Though Virk refrained from taking any names, it is well-known that leaders of the ruling SAD-BJP alliance are keen on nailing Virk and other close associates of former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh in criminal cases. Virk is known for his close proximity to the dethroned Chief Minister.

The Kharar police had registered a case of cheating, forgery and fraud against Chandigarh-based property dealer Vijay Pal Singh, alias Dimpy, and others on a complaint of Mohinder Kaur, whose husband, Amar Singh, had lost his life on the Indo-China border.

In her complaint, Mohinder Kaur had alleged that she had been fraudulently made to give up ownership of the four-acre plot in Kharar, which was given to her by the government. Later, Dimpy, the main accused in the case, had been arrested from Delhi.

However, there were allegations that Dimpy was being pressured into naming Virk as being involved in the fraud. Even in his plea for anticipatory bail, which became infructuous due to his arrest, Dimpy had stated that he had been told by cops to name senior police officers close to the previous regime if he wanted not to be harassed.

On the other hand, in his plea, the former DGP, while acknowledging that he had business relations with Dimpy, denied any involvement in the case. He also submitted details of the cheque for Rs 50 lakh that he had given to Dimpy to buy land near Chandigarh. He stated that the fact was clearly reflected in his income tax returns for the year 2005-06.

Today, when the matter came up before the district and sessions judge, Ropar CIA in charge Tejinder Singh told the court that the investigation in the matter was complete and nothing incriminating had been found against Virk or Dimpy.

Following this statement, the court termed the plea as infructuous. It, however, directed that in case the police wanted to associate Virk with the investigation, two days’ notice would have to be given in advance.