Punjab vigilance arrests Mohali DFO, contractor for corruption

The Punjab vigilance bureau on Thursday arrested Mohali district forest officer (DFO) Guramanpreet Singh and a non-public contractor, Harman Hummy alias Fortunate, on graft costs.

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The vigilance arrested the DFO from his home in Sunny Enclave, Kharar, whereas Fortunate was arrested from his home in Sector 36, Chandigarh.

The arrests have been made after World Extensive Immigration Consultancy Companies (WWICS) senior director Devinder Singh Sandhu lodged a grievance on the chief minister’s anti-corruption helpline, saying they have been demanding a bribe for favouring him in sure tasks.

Within the grievance, Sandhu stated the forest officer approached him on a number of events, by numerous mediums, to demand bribes.

“After I resisted giving the bribe, he acquired a false grievance lodged from forest vary officer (RO) Ranjodh Singh at Nayagaon police station on April 24, 2022, for violations of the Punjab Land Safety Act (PLPA),” he stated, including that he carried a video recorder to an April 30 assembly with the DFO to reveal him.

“Over the subsequent few days, on the instructions of conservator of forest Vishal Chauhan, Singh additionally requested me to pay ₹1 crore upfront to them for the farm mission. Thereafter, ₹10 lakh on a month-to-month foundation and in addition ₹5 lakh on the market of every land parcel/farm was sought,” alleged Sandhu, who maintained that he was by no means violating Part 4 of PLPA as his land was agricultural.

Sandhu had claimed that he had uploaded the video sting as proof on the Punjab CM’s anti-corruption helpline.

On Could 9, police booked Col BS Sandhu (retd), the managing director of WWICS, and his aide Tarsem Singh for constructing unlawful farmhouses at Masol village. The FIR was registered underneath Part 4 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act after they have been discovered levelling forest land illegally to develop farmhouses, Truthful Heavens, on round 100 acres.

Vigilance bureau SSP Gaganjit Singh stated that the arrests of the DFO and the non-public contractor have been made after verifying the grievance and video.