No action against former Akali MLA’s son, in spite of Mansa DC’s report

BATHINDA A month after Mansa deputy commissioner Dharampal Gupta recommended the registration of a criminal case for illegal mutation of seven acres of panchayat land in Dantewas village against four people, including the son of a former SAD MLA, there has been no action against those indicted.

Emboldened by the inaction, some of them even sowed maize on the plot in the wee hours of Wednesday. This was hours before a delegation from the panchayat went to the local district and panchayat development officer (DDPO) seeking action.

On July 6 this year, the DC had indicted Bikramjit Singh, the son of former Akali MLA Harbant Singh; former sarpanch Karnail Singh; tehsildar Kala Ram Kansal, presently Patran SDM; Kanungo Gurmail Singh and other revenue officials for carrying out illegal mutation of the land in question (54 kanal 13 marlas or 7 acres) in 2006.

In 2014, after residents raised a hue and cry over the matter, Punjab and Haryana high court ordered the then Mansa DC to conduct a probe into the matter. However, due to alleged political interference in the SAD-BJP regime, an inquiry was not started, sources claimed.

After the previous DCs Bhupinder Singh Rai and Varinder Sharma preferred to keep the matter under the carpet, it was the present DC, who finally conducted the probe and submitted his report to director, rural development and panchayats on July 6, 2017.

“During the Badal regime, due to political pressure, an inquiry into the matter was shelved despite orders from the Punjab and Haryana HC," said panchayat member Ranjit Singh, who had moved the HC for restoring village common land to the panchayat.

Mansa district development and panchayat officer (DDPO) Baljit Kaur, on the other hand, said she had written to the Mansa SSP on July 6, 2017, for the registration of the case, but no action was taken. On Wednesday, Ranjit Singh, the petitioner in the HC, led a team to the her office to lodge a complaint. Baljit told them to come on Thursday to get the issue resolved.

However, when this HT Correspondent contacted her, she said, “I will now seek the deployment of police force to hand over the possession of 7 acres of common land to the panchayat on Thursday.”

C Siben, director, rural development and panchayats, said he was apprised of the case and had asked the DC for "appropriate action as per the rules and the law".

Mansa SSP Parambir Singh Parmar said the matter has been sent to the district attorney office for the imposition of the relevant Sections. He claimed that he was not aware of the matter. "We will do the needful," the SSP said, acknowledging the DDPO’s communication to register a case against the accused.

EMBOLDENED BY THE INACTION, SOME OF THEM EVEN SOWED MAIZE ON THE PLOT IN THE WEE HOURS OF WEDNESDAY