Chandigarh, Sep 3 (IANS) The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday urged Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria to recommend a time-bound, court-monitored CBI probe into the organized corruption racket being operated from the Chief Minister’s office (CMO) by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s OSD Rajbir Ghuman as well as his wife Gurpreet Kaur Mann who had taken a bribe of Rs 5 crore to “settle” two rape and abduction cases.
A high-level delegation of SAD led by its President Sukhbir Badal met the Governor here and apprised him about the two cases, even as it called for the immediate resignation of the Chief Minister and registration of an FIR against the latter’s OSD and wife Gurpreet Mann.
Talking to the media after submitting the representation to the Governor, Badal said “those closest to the Chief Minister have opened a single-window service for gangsters and rapists and virtually every illegal activity, including change of land use (CLU), and postings and transfers for a fee.” Badal made it clear that the party would take both the cases to their logical conclusion, asserting that Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal and the Istri Akali Dal would hold a protest to “gherao’ the Chief Minister’s residence on September 5 and would follow it up with protests in all constituencies.
“We will continue to protest against this corrupt government until justice is delivered.”
Urging Punjabis and the media to support the party in this endeavour, the SAD President said, “There is conclusive evidence that five women victims met the Chief Minister for justice. Despite that, his wife coordinated with the rapist to secure a clean chit for him in exchange for Rs 5 crore in two separate rape cases. All the proofs, including audio and CCTV footage, is in the public domain. It is also known that in both rape cases in Amritsar and Mohali, cancellation reports were filed and the accused walked scot-free within two months of the rape cases being registered against him. On one side are rapists and on the other the victim girls. I sincerely hope each and every one of us will support the victims.”
The delegation, which included Maheshinder Singh Grewal, Bikram Singh Majithia, Dr Daljit Singh Cheema and Sikandar Singh Maluka, apprised the Governor of how the Enforcement Directorate had placed an affidavit before the Punjab and Haryana High Court on September 1, highlighting how the CMO in Punjab had been converted into a marketplace for transfer and postings of officers, government tenders, arms licences and land approvals.
It disclosed how the DGP was refusing to register an FIR in the case despite a formal reference by the ED and how the finance minister had publicly dismissed the reference as a document “weaponised” by the Opposition.
The delegation said in the second case, the name of the Chief Minister’s wife had been invoked on tape as the currency for an Rs 5 crore demand to bury FIRs of rape and abduction, after the accused media influencer-cum-businessman had fled to the United States after being released from jail.
Asserting that when the CMO, the CM’s OSD and the Chief Minister’s own wife were the subject of allegations and the state investigation agencies were proving ineffective, it urged the Governor to exercise his powers under Article 167 to call for a report from the Chief Secretary and the DGP as to why no FIR had been registered on the ED’s reference.
It also urged that the circumstances under which two separate rape and abduction FIRs filed by two women were cancelled and the suspect Guri Chahal was discharged should also be called for by the Governor.
The representation also urged the Governor to intervene with the state government as well as the Union government to conduct a court-monitored, time-bound CBI probe into all corruption cases disclosed in the ED’s reference, including the role of every public servant, intermediary, developer and beneficiary and the money trail.
It also urged a CBI probe into the demand and collection of money in the name of the Chief Minister’s wife for “settlement” of two rape cases and the role of all persons who arranged, paid, received or promised such money or influence, including police officials who suppressed the complaints.
–IANS
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