Mohali District Forest Officer held in graft case

Chandigarh, June 2

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The Punjab Vigilance Bureau today arrested Mohali District Forest Officer (DFO) Gurmanpreet Singh and contractor Harmahinder Singh (alias Hummy) for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 2 lakh.

Davinder Singh Sandhu, senior director, WWICS Estate Private Limited, had recently uploaded a video on the CM’s anti-corruption helpline, showing the accused accepting the bribe for allegedly facilitating the sale of illegal farmhouses at Masaul and Tanda villages.

The accused were booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120-B of the IPC. They were produced in a Mohali court that remanded them in two-day police custody. The role of Shivalik circle Conservator Vishal Chauhan, Forest Range Officer Ranjodh Singh and Patwari Aman is also being probed for allegedly facilitating the sale of farmhouses. The Tribune had recently published a series of reports on the illegal farmhouses coming up in the area.

Forest Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak yesterday defended the DFO and other officials for taking on realtor Sandhu, who was recently booked for illegally carving out farmhouses on the periphery of Chandigarh.

The DFO had categorically denied graft charges.

Vigilance officials said Lt Col BS Sandhu and his son Devinder Sandhu own around 100 acres in the name of their company at Masaul and Tanda villages. As per the FIR, Forest Range Officer Ranjodh Singh, on April 24, asked the realtors to seal a deal with the DFO and the Conservator or a case would be registered against them.

The realtor was asked to pay Rs 1 crore at the time of starting the project, Rs 10 lakh per month thereafter and Rs 5 lakh on the sale of every farmhouse. After the realtors refused to follow the diktat, an FIR was registered against them.