Canadian NRI back in Moga to save his land, faces cops’ challenge

EX-AKALI SARPANCH WHO IS TOTA SINGH’S ASSOCIATE AMONG 5 CHARGED WITH GRABBING HIS LAND

CHANDIGARH: In a long legal battle to save his land from influential people, Canada-based Nirmal Singh is back in Moga to face fresh challenge from the Punjab cops.

Police have submitted a new “inquiry report” in the court, which bails out the accused and pins down the complainant when the case has reached the finalevidence-and-cross-examination stage. The accused — Kuldeep Singh, former Akali sarpanch of Choorchakk and an associate of NRI minister Tota Singh, besides Mohinder Singh of Lalton Kalan and three others — are charged with grabbing the NRI’s 14 acres by forging the revenue record in connivance with a ‘patwari’.

The case was registered in November 2014. “NRI Nimral Singh is clever,” assistant subinspector Hari Singh begins his two-page inquiry report with this remark. The concluding remarks say the expatriate cheated Mohinder Singh of ₹1.5 crore but have no mention of the two land-grab FIRs (first-information reports).

On August 22, the ASI appeared as a defence witness in favour of Kuldeep Singh and others. “I don’t know the outcome of the two FIRs,” he stated in his cross examination, which means he was unaware of the challan filed in the State versus Mohinder Singh case a year ago.

Moga senior superintendent of police Snehdeep Sharma said he had assigned the case to a senior official (SP-detective Amarjit Singh Ghuman). Ghuman said police could entertain a cross complaint from the accused. On Friday, the NRI approached inspector general (NRI wing) Ishwar Singh, who wrote to the Moga SSP to ensure his safety and wrote to the additional IG (NRI wing), Ludhiana, for review.