Chargesheet filed against Haryana Cong chief, 2 MLAs over graft

The State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) have filed chargesheets against Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Rao Narender Singh, two Congress MLAs Naresh Selval and Jarnail Singh, and party leader Ram Niwas Ghorela over sting operations in which they were allegedly demanding money.

The chargesheet against Rao Narender was filed in the Narnaul court on October 23 under the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 30-50 crore to clear a change of land use (CLU) case of 30 acres. The court has issued a notice to him for November 10. He was a minister in the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government when the sting operation was shot. The FIR against Rao Narender was registered on the order of then Haryana Lokayukta Justice Pritam Pal on the complaint of INLD leader Rampal Majra in December 2015. He had denied the charges as political vendetta.

Full faith in judiciary

This action, taken without notice, shows that the BJP is clearly unnerved. We have full faith in the judiciary. We will continue to work with fearlessness. -- Rao Narender Singh, Haryana Congress chief

The chargesheet against Uklana MLA Selval was filed on October 6 in Hisar, and he has been issued a notice for December 11. He has been charged with demanding a bribe for clearing a case for CLU. An FIR was registered against Selval in December 2015 on the complaint of former Kalka MLA Pardeep Chaudhary, then an INLD leader. Chaudhary is now with the Congress.

Against Ratia MLA Jarnail Singh, the chargesheet was filed on September 17 before a Fatehabad court in CLU case. November 11 is the next date for hearing in the case. In the Jarnail Singh case, too, the Lokayukta had ordered the FIR on the complaint of then INLD leader Ashok Arora in December 2015. Arora is now a Congress MLA from Thanesar.

The chargesheet against Ghorela was filed on September 18 in a Hisar court for demanding bribe for clearing a case related to Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan. The court has issued him notice for November 20.

Ghorela had contested from the Barwala seat in the 2024 Assembly elections but lost to BJP’s Ranbir Gangwa. In this case, too, the Lokayukta ordered the FIR in December 2015 on a complaint by Abhay Singh Chautala, who is now the national president of the INLD.

The Lokayukta had directed senior IPS officer V Kamraj to investigate the allegations against the MLAs following complaints by INLD leaders who cited sting operations conducted by Dharmender Kuhar and Parveen Malik.

The leaders named in the sting operations had refused to give their voice samples. With help from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh, it revealed that there was no tampering with the CD. Also, the source from which it was recorded and the voice of the people, who had conducted the sting were also proven.

In all the cases, Kamraj gave the report that the “direct demand and agreement to accept on the part” of the public servants “is clearly established in the conversation”.