Punjab: Police clean chit to Bathinda doctor in PSPCL land grab case
SPS Parmar, the then additional director general of police (ADGP), Bathinda range, got the matter investigated and on August 29 directed senior superintendent of police (SSP) Amneet Kondal to get the doctor discharge from the case.
Bathinda range police have given a clean chit to a city doctor facing allegations of encroaching prime land of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL).
On January 25, then Bathinda deputy commissioner-cum-registrar Showkat Ahmad Parray had lodged a complaint against Dr Gajendra Shekhawat, who had bought the land measuring about 12,000 yards in 2022, Ashok Kumar, a real estate agent, and brothers Gurwinder Singh and Harjinder Singh.
An FIR against the quartet was registered on April 6 under Section 82 of the Registration Act, and invoking sections of the IPC, including 420 (cheating), 447 (criminal trespass), 465 (forgery) and 120B (criminal conspiracy).
SPS Parmar, the then additional director general of police (ADGP), Bathinda range, got the matter investigated and on August 29 directed senior superintendent of police (SSP) Amneet Kondal to get Shekhawat discharge from the case.
Parmar’s report concluded that Shekhawat was “singled out” and subjected to “arm twisting to benefit certain party.” The report stated that the case was registered on an anonymous complaint which does not deserve to be entertained as there is no aggrieved party. The ADGP, however, absolved only Shekhawat and there was no reference in his report about the three other accused.
The case has not been closed. Parmar, now posted as ADGP (law and order), said on Sunday that SSP Kondal was asked to investigate the matter and identify the culprits, if any, for legal action. The SSP said the application to discharge Shekhawat from the case will be submitted in the court soon.
“The then SSP in two communications sent in February and March had sought clarity on the criminal angle found by the civil administration and that the DC’s report does not highlight what documents were forged by the accused. Moreover, the PSPCL never reported that any piece of land owned by it was usurped,” reads the report.
As the matter is under judicial review, ADGP Parmar entertained a complaint from Shekhawat’s father and gave a clean chit to the main accused.
“It was my duty to ensure that no innocent person is harassed. After going through the details of the case put on record, it was odd to find that there are several land occupants in the said area but only that piece of land was questioned that Shekhawat had bought,” the ADGP said on Sunday.
The report mentioned that the additional sessions judge had granted a stay on lodging an FIR but the action was done contemptuously.
“The master plan of Bathinda city does not mention that PSPCL has any land in the area where the accused owns the land,” the ADGP added.
Shekhawat had brought the land on the Bathinda-Malout highway, on outskirts of the city.
Parray, who was recently posted as Bathinda DC, on Sunday said that he has asked for a copy of the ADGP’s probe and further action would be initiated after going through the report.
“I had recommended lodging an FIR under the Registration Act after a detailed probe under the supervision of the additional DC found irregularities. The DC office was not engaged while hearing an application (by the ADGP) and my office, which was a complainant in the matter, was not informed after a clean chit was given in the matter of grabbing of public land,” added Parray.