Evading arrest, suspended IAS officer and former Patiala deputy commissioner Vikas Garg has approached the Punjab and Haryana high court, seeking quashing of the FIR registered against him and nine others on November 9, 2012, in the Rs 250-crore Patiala land scam.
The Punjab vigilance bureau (VB) has been unsuccessful so far in securing Garg's arrest despite issuance of three arrest warrants from the trial court since the registration of the case.
On March 8, the VB had filed an application in the Patiala trial court for declaring Garg a proclaimed offender as he had failed to join the investigation.
Earlier, Garg was denied pre-arrest bail by the high court on December 21, 2012, after which he had approached the Supreme Court in January this year, where also his petition seeking bail had been dismissed.
Garg is accused of being instrumental in marking Rs 250-crore government land measuring around 6,000 sq yards, situated on the grand post office road, Patiala, as private property to allow its further sale in 2011. The trial court had found that the officials had executed the land sale deed worth Rs 250 crore for just Rs 6.3 crore.
In his petition, Garg has informed the high court that he had no role to play in the registration of two sale deeds on October 14, 2011, and he had been falsely implicated in the case for political reasons. He added that he gave no verbal directions for the registration of the sale deeds, as alleged. He has also submitted that the cost of the land under question is not Rs 250 crore, as has been assessed, but much less.
{{/usCountry}}In his petition, Garg has informed the high court that he had no role to play in the registration of two sale deeds on October 14, 2011, and he had been falsely implicated in the case for political reasons. He added that he gave no verbal directions for the registration of the sale deeds, as alleged. He has also submitted that the cost of the land under question is not Rs 250 crore, as has been assessed, but much less.
{{/usCountry}}Garg, along with five revenue officials, was suspended on May 8, 2012, by the state government.
The case would come up for hearing on Wednesday.
Vigilance probe
Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal had ordered the VB probe in the case, following which an FIR was registered on November 9, 2012, against Garg and nine others on the charges of forgery, conspiracy and corruption.
Other accused include then district revenue officer Rajbir Singh, naib tehsildar Gurinder Singh Walia, kanungo Pritpal Singh and patwari Suresh Kumar. The private individuals booked are property sellers and purchasers Davinder Singh Sandhu, Yashpal Aggarwal, NP Singh, Jaswant Singh and Ravdeep Singh.