Patiala land scam: Garg slams probe report, claims property private
Former Patiala deputy commissioner Vikas Garg, indicted in the Rs 250-crore land scam, has termed divisional commissioner SR Ladhar's inquiry report 'incorrect'. He claimed that the revenue staff executed the sale deed as the land was private property.
Former Patiala deputy commissioner Vikas Garg, indicted in the Rs 250-crore land scam, has termed divisional commissioner SR Ladhar's inquiry report 'incorrect'. He claimed that the revenue staff executed the sale deed as the land was private property.
Garg reportedly met Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal in Chandigarh on Monday and argued that the land on which government offices were situated was sold as private property. The CM then asked Garg to submit relevant documents to NS Kang, financial commissioner, revenue (FCR), who is now probing the matter.
Sources said Garg had produced a document dating back to 1957, when Barjinder Singh, son of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, had sold a property to the postal department. This property is adjacent to the prime land where the civil surgeon's office and five other government offices are located.
During his meeting with the FCR, Garg told him that these government offices were situated on the land of Kiraninder Singh, a member of the erstwhile royal family of Patiala. Kiraninder is the son of Barjinder Singh. Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh is also a grandson of Bhupinder Singh.
Meanwhile, former divisional commissioner GS Grewal, who has also been indicted in the case, has also written to the government to give him a hearing before taking the final decision.
Kang confirmed that Garg had met him. "Claiming that the property is private, he submitted some
documents. I have asked him to verify the authenticity of these documents and also sought a detailed explanation about the matter," Kang said.