Vigilance Bureau arrests Kaithal SDM over corruption charges

Tribune News Service

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Chandigarh, January 18

The State Vigilance Bureau (SVB) on Tuesday arrested Kaithal Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Amarinder Singh, a 2019-batch Haryana Civil Services (HCS) officer, for allegedly taking bribe and allowing overloaded trucks to ply.

Four persons nabbed so far

A total of four persons have so far been arrested in the case. The anticipatory bail petitions of ASI Jaspal Singh and RTA Inspector Ajay Saini have already been dismissed. Nothing has been recovered from the SDM. Somesh Kumar, Investigating officer

The case is related to the previous posting of Amarinder when he was given the additional charge of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA), Ambala, in October 2021.

Transporter Dev Raj, a resident of Kaithal, made a complaint to the SVB that he was made to pay Rs 20,000 through Google Pay for getting released his overloaded truck on November 3, 2011, in Ambala. The RTA staff allegedly told him that he could continue to ply overloaded trucks after paying the bribe on a monthly basis and provided him a number too for payments.

Dev Raj paid Rs 18,000 for allowing three trucks on November 19, 2021. His trucks were not stopped till December 5, 2021. Thereafter, he was contacted again and was asked for charges for December. For two trucks, Rs 12,000 was allegedly demanded for the RTA staff, and in return a sticker was promised for the safe passage.

On Dev Raj’s complaint, on December 17, 2021, the SVB conducted a raid at the office of Gurpreet Singh, alias Lucky Trading Company, Motor Market, Ambala, from where the latter was apprehended and Rs 12,000 bribe money was recovered.

The stickers of ‘DPS Fresh Fruit’ meant for the safe passage of overloaded vehicles were also recovered from Gurpreet. Later on Gurpreet’s interrogation, his co-conspirator Jaspal Singh and a driver on contract basis with RTA-Ambala, Karanvir Singh, were nabbed. On their interrogation, Rs 20,000 more was recovered from Gurpreet.

After RTA Gauri Midha went on leave, additional charge was given to Amarinder. Thereafter, on his indication for allegedly fixing monthly charges for allowing overloaded vehicles, transporters were contacted.

A deal was struck to collect Rs 6,000 per truck per month by Gurpreet and Jaspal from the transporters for the safe passage of overloaded vehicles.

For October, Rs 3 lakh was allegedly collected and after retaining Rs 22,000, Gurpreet and Jaspal allegedly paid Rs 2.78 lakh to ASI Jaspal Singh posted in the RTA-Ambala on deputation since September 11, 2021. That amount, according to the ASI, was allegedly paid to RTA Inspector Ajay Saini and Amarinder.

Similarly, Rs 4 lakh was allegedly collected in November and of that Rs 3.72 lakh was paid to the ASI for further payment to Saini and Amarinder.

The ASI wanted to become the approver in the case and had recorded his statement under Section 164 of the CrPC on December 24, 2021. Even, the SVB had moved an application for the grant of pardon to him but withdrew it on January 17.

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