Feud over palace: Nephew files plaint against Virbhadra

› Palace belonged to my grandfather and it was divided into two parts. I did not want to register any complaint but seeing the actions of my uncle, I was forced to do so. RAJESHWAR SINGH, complainant and Virbhadra’s nephew

caretaker of Rampur’s Padam Palace, 125 kms from here, filed a police complaint on Wednesday, alleging that former chief minister Virbhadra Singh (CM), along with others, broke into that portion of the palace which belongs to Rajeshwar Singh (Virbhadra Singh’s nephew).

In the two page complaint, filed by Mast Ram, who manages the part of palace owned by Rajeshwar Singh, he alleged that former CM Virbhadra Singh, his wife Pratibha Singh, son Vikramaditya Singh and former engineer-in-chief, public works, SP Negi, entered the palace along with a group of people and broke open locks of many rooms.

The rooms were ransacked and the belongings were thrown out, he alleged, adding that a sum of ₹30, 000 was also missing from one of the rooms.

He alleged that Virbhadra Singh had called him to his palace earlier and threatened him.

“I had locked the rooms as there were precious items lying in them,” he said. Ram claimed that Roshan, the watchman of the palace, informed him about Virbhadra Singh’s action.

“The palace belonged to my grandfather and it was divided into two portions. I did not want to register any complaint but seeing the actions of my uncle, I was forced to do so. It was a family matter and could have been resolved in some other way,” said Rajeshwar Singh.

Superintendent of police (SP) Omapati Jamwal said the Rampur police station received a complaint against Virbhadra Singh by Mast Ram, who is the caretaker of Rajeshwar Singh’s portion of the palace.

However, Virbhadra Singh did not respond to repeated phone calls.