Punjab mining row: ‘Truth’ appeals to Narang panel, not complete truth

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 6

“Truth is truth to the end of reckoning,” Justice Narang quotes William Shakespeare in his report on the investigation into the suspected mining scandal in Punjab. However, several crucial bits of apparently good evidence fail to find mention in his report.

Justice JS Narang, who headed the judicial commission of inquiry set up to probe Irrigation Minister Rana Gurjit Singh’s involvement in sand mining auctions, does not seem to have taken note of crucial facts that could have linked him to two successful bidders — his cook Amit Bahadur and a deputy general manager in his company, Kulwinder Pal Singh.

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The commission’s report, submitted to Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on August 10, however, does establish that Bahadur and Kulwinder participated in the auction as “front men”, and did not pay even a rupee from their accounts to the government. Instead, the report finds that both acted as front men for Sahil Singla (who is a son of the minister’s chartered accountant Triloki Nath Singla) and Sanjeet Randhawa (son of Capt JS Randhawa, who was the election agent of the minister). The report notes that their act is in violation of Conditions 5, 22, and 25 of the notification of the Industry Department on mining, which require that money should come from the bidders’ accounts.

However, the report does not indicate if it questioned Amit Bahadur or Rana Gurjit about financial transactions between the two. It was reported by The Tribune that in an affidavit submitted to the Election Commission, the minister had reported being in business with four companies in which Bahadur and another employee, Balraj Singh, were directors. Both participated in the auctions. Rana Gurjit received loans and advances of Rs 25 crore from the four companies.

Bahadur continued as director in three companies — Flawless Traders, Century Agros, and RJ Texfab — even after the May auction of mines, a fact that the Narang report does not go into. These companies were being operated from the address where the minister’s companies have their headquarters. 

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs was intimated of Bahadur’s resignation from the directorship of these companies after The Tribune expose.

The commission has simply accepted the claims of both Bahadur and Kulwinder that they resigned from the minister’s companies a few weeks before the auctions. The report does not mention if it made any further investigation on media reports that both of them were working for the minister even when the auctions took place.

Another important fact not touched upon is that Kulwinder was getting land sale deeds signed on behalf of the minister on May 17 and May 18 at the Kharar sub-division office. Even copies of sale deeds executed in favour of the family of Rana Gurjit Singh show that Kulwinder was present on behalf of the minister.

The commission had earlier come under flak after it came to the fore that Justice Narang’s son had represented the Rana family in a court case in the past. Subsequently, Opposition parties had appealed to Justice Narang to step down from the commission.