Chandigarh, September 12
It will be DGP S.S. Virk’s own admission about the existence of “cats”, militants-turned-informers, and using them to fight terror, that could probably prove expensive for him.

This, even as the VB today trained its guns on PUDA, asking if Chimney Heights — a resort owned by Virk — was authorised, or was it operating in connivance of PUDA officials or their negligence.

The VB sources claimed that the portion of the FIR against Virk on “cats” is based on Virk’s own admission at a press conference in Chandigarh more than a year ago when he admitted that there were 300 “cats” in Punjab and admitted that Harjit Singh Kahlon, alias Sukhwinder Singh Sukhi, was his “cat”.

The VB has also alleged in the FIR that Virk was using a group of former terrorists to grab properties and one such person was Sukhi. Sections 216 and 218 of the IPC have been imposed on Virk that, in official circles, is being seen as an attempt to nail him for harbouring terrorists and then using them.

How does grabbing property using such “cats” becomes national strategy to curb terrorism, asked a source in the VB. The VB has not named any of the “cats” used by any police officer the only one referred to by name is Sukhi, whose existence had been acknowledged by Virk at a press conference.

It was Virk who exposed the national strategy in the first place by publicly saying that there were 300 such “cats” and not the VB or the Punjab government that exposed the “cats” to public eye, said sources.

The VB today sent a team of officials to Chimney Heights and PUDA. The latter will reply in writing if the resort was authorised. In case it was not authorised, PUDA could also face the music.

However, even PUDA officials cannot possibly explain how many of such resorts or marriage palaces near Chandigarh, Ludhiana of Jalandhar were authorised and how many not. Or will the VB also check the records to ascertain if all other such resorts which are owned by families of serving or retired IPS and IAS officers were in the authorized category or not?

Meanwhile, the VB has made the documents recovered from Virk’s briefcase a part of the judicial records and these will be investigated. The names of six officials mentioned in the records are now on the “hit list” of the VB. They are four IPS officers , one IAS officer and one PCS officer. All of them were known to be close to Amarinder Singh.

It remains to be seen if the VB widen its scope to investigate the corruption carried out by other officers during the previous regime or will it restrict itself to a few close associates of Amarinder Singh.

The VB sources also gave a clean chit to Surinder Pal Singh, SSP, in the VB and the investigating officer in Virks case. “He just purchased the property in a colony floated by Virk. Buying a house cannot be term illegal”.

It is clear that Virk may be questioned within the next 10 to 12 days. This will hinge upon his medical condition. Yesterday, the VB asked the court to send Virk on judicial remand, however, as per law the police can seek police remand within 15 days of the arrest. The VB in its application to the court had said that “the accused (Virk) was likely to tamper with evidence….”