Chandigarh, August 19: The Punjab Vigilance Bureau VB has arrested the former DGP Punjab Sumedh Singh Saini in a case u/s 409, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471, 120-B IPC and 7(A)(B)(C) and 7-A, 13(1) r/w 13(2) Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 registered on 17/09/2020 at Police Station, VB, FS-, Punjab at Mohali.
He was produced in the local CJM court of SAS Nagar on Tuesday to get his remand.
Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson of Vigilance Bureau said that the Director of WWICS Estates Private Ltd Davinder Singh Sandhu in colluding with Deputy Director Ashok Sika PCS, now retired, and Senior Town Planner Sagar Bhatia, now retired and others officials of local government converted illegally an agriculture land into residential colonies namely Green Meadows-1 and Meadows-2 at Kurali, S.A.S district by fraudulently hiding the actual facts and showing fake documents in the year 2013. In this regard, a case had been registered u/s 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B IPC and 7(A)(B)(C) and 7-A, 13(1) r/w 13(2) Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 on 17/09/2020 at Police Station, SAS Nagar against all the aforementioned accused.
giving details of the case he informed that during the probe, it came out that Davinder Singh Sandhu was known to Nimardeep Singh, Executive Engineer of P.W.D who is well known to higher authorities. In this connection, Nimardeep Singh received a bribe amount to the tune of Rs. six crore from Davinder Singh Sandhu for getting their above mentioned colonies certified. Thereafter, Nirmardeep Singh, his father Surinderjeet Singh Jaspal and their aides Taranjeet Singh Aneja and Mohit Puri have also been nominated as accused in this land use conversion case.
He further revealed that during the investigation, it has came to light that Nimardeep Singh had purchased a two Kanal house No. 3048, Sector 20-D Chandigarh and rebuilt the same house after demolishing in the year September, 2017 with the same bribe money i.e 6 crore. On being questioned, he revealed that the former DGP is residing as a tenant on the first floor of the house from 15-10-2018 and paying a rent of Rs. 2.50 lakh per month for the rented first floor.
It is worth mentioning here that after analyzing the financial transactions of Surinderjit Singh Jaspal & Sumedh Singh Saini’s bank account, it has came to the fore that Saini has transferred amount to the tune of Rs. 6 crore and Rs. 40 lakhs to the accused Nirmandeep Singh and Surinderjeet Singh Jaspal in their bank accounts from August 2018 to August 2020. This amount was not given in accordance with the rent deed.
The spokesperson highlighted that the accused further presented a new fact after deliberate conspiracy with Mr Saini that the tenant wanted to purchase the same house and in this context accused have done verbal agreement with tenant Saini. But as the new facts emerged during the probe, the accused furnished a copy of agreement to sell which was executed on 02/10/2019 owing to prevent their attachment of property in the local court. This agreement was signed between Sumedh Singh Saini and Surinderjeet Singh Jaspal on a plane paper without any testimony.
Furthermore, he stated that this fake agreement to sell of house No. 3048, Sector 20-D Chandigarh was prepared by mutual consent between the accused Surinderjeet Singh Jaspal and Mr Saini in order to protect the attachment of their house in the court and used this as a value security. In this regard, Sumedh Singh Saini was arrested on 18/08/2021.
