Graft case: Vigilance files chargesheet against former Punjab minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot
It was alleged in the FIR that many irregularities were detected in awarding contracts for cutting forest trees in Punjab during his tenure; the chargesheet was filed in the court of additional district and sessions judge Sandeep Kumar Singla. Vigilance spokesperson said the chargesheet has been submitted within the stipulated time and the case has been committed to sessions court for regular trial.
Punjab vigilance bureau on Saturday filed a chargesheet against former forest minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, former Mohali district forest officer (DFO) Guramanpreet Singh and another accused Kamaljit Singh in a graft case.
The chargesheet was filed in the court of additional district and sessions judge Sandeep Kumar Singla. Vigilance spokesperson said the chargesheet has been submitted within the stipulated time and the case has been committed to sessions court for regular trial.
The former forest minister in chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s cabinet was arrested on June 7 and booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly taking kickbacks to issue permits to cut khair trees, transfer officials, make purchases and issue no-objection certificates (NOCs) for private infrastructure development on forest land.
The case was registered on the basis of revelations made by arrested Mohali DFO Guramanpreet Singh and contractor Harminder Singh Hummy, who detailed various wrongdoings in the department during the tenure of the minister. Guramanpreet and Harminder were arrested by the vigilance bureau on June 2 after a video of a sting operation came to the fore in which Guramanpreet was purportedly seen seeking a bribe of ₹2 lakh for the sale of illegal farmhouses in the vicinity of Chandigarh.
As per the FIR, Dharamsot used to collect kickbacks through Kamaljit Singh, a vernacular reporter and his media adviser, and Chamkaur Singh, a retired range officer appointed as his officer on special duty. The duo was arrested along with the former minister.
The accused have been booked under Sections 7, 7A (public servant taking illegal gratification), 13(1)(A), 13(2) (criminal misconduct by public servant) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
“The accused were arrested on June 7 and are presently in judicial custody. A final report, under Section 173(2) of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), has been filed in the Mohali sessions court. The case has been marked for trial to the additional and sessions court Mohali and next date for consideration has been fixed for August 8, 2022,” said the vigilance bureau.
As per Dharamsot’s advocate, “The minister will be produced in the court on August 8 and the chargesheet, said to be of 1,200 pages, will be handed over to him.”
‘Former minister Gilzian not named in chargesheet’
The vigilance had also booked Dharamsot’s successor Sangat Singh Gilzian and his nephew Daljit Singh Gilzian, in the same case but has not named them in the chargesheet so far, sources said.
Gilzian, who was forest minister in chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s cabinet, was named in the FIR and his role in the corruption cases is being investigated by the vigilance. Both ministers are also accused of involvement in illegal sand mining on forest land in Kandi area.
His nephew Daljit Singh Gilzian was arrested on July 13 for allegedly acting as a middleman to collect money from contractors for transfers of department officials, purchasing tree guards, issuance of permits for felling trees and NOCs for the construction of slip roads for commercial establishments near highways, and other projects in the department.
