CBI court acquits ex-DGP, 2 others
PANCHKULA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s special court has acquitted former Haryana director general of police (DGP) MS Malik and two other police officials in the 2003 railway recruitment scam, wherein irregularities were found in the recruitment of constables in the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Haryana Armed Police.
The order was pronounced on Saturday. Malik, who retired in 2006, is an active member of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and is considered close to the Chautalas.
His wife Krishna Malik contested parliamentary seat from Sonepat on INLD ticket in past.
Other officers who were acquitted included DSP Udey Shankar (now retired) and DSP Arun Kumar, currently in service.
CBI had also charged superintendent of police (SP, railways) Ravi Azad but he had died a year after the CBI probe began.
The Punjab and Haryana high court had handed over the case to the CBI on December 13, 2004 after hearing a petition.
The investigating agency then registered a case at its Chandigarh branch on June 19, 2006.
The matter was in trial since 2013 when charges were framed against the accused.
Informing about the acquittal of all the accused, defence counsel Umrish Gandhi said that the verdict proved that case against their clients was fabricated and false. “While detailed order of the court is not yet out, the CBI could not substantiate the charge levelled against them, he added. The CBI counsel could not be reached for comments.
The case pertained to the appointment of 500 police personnel. As per the CBI, in 2003-04, Malik constituted a section board, including the two other officers, for filling 150 posts of constables from the Scheduled Caste (SC) category in the Haryana Armed Police and 350 posts of temporary constables in the GRP.
Before the declaration of results, Azad went to Malik’s house in Chandigarh, where then DGP handed him a list of candidates for selection as GRP constables. As per the CBI, Azad then directed his subordinates to take out the application forms of certain candidates, thereby compromising the order of merit.