Uttarakhand NH-74 scam accused DP Singh hospitalized

The prime accused in the ₹ 300 crore NH 74 scam and former special land acquisition officer DP Singh was on Saturday admitted to a local hospital as a special investigation team reached to take him on police remand.

A special anti-corruption court on Friday sent Singh to the Nainital jail and permitted the state police’s special investigation team (SIT) to take him on 3-day remand.

When the SIT team reached the jail in the morning, they were informed by the jail doctor that Singh was unwell and will have to be admitted to the hospital.

The jail administration requested the local police to take Singh to the hospital even as the SIT approached the civil court for his custody.

The court directed the government counsel to hand over Singh to the SIT team.

The government counsel spoke to the state inspector general of police (prisons) PVK Prasad, who directed the jail superintendent Manoj Kumar to hand Singh over to the SIT.

The SIT team led by investigation officer Swatantra Singh after taking Singh into custody accompanied him to the hospital where doctors carried out a detailed medical check-up.

Singh is suffering from high blood pressure as he was diabetic and his electrocardiogram show that his heart was not functioning properly, said Dr MS Dugtal at the hospital.

“He has been referred to the Susheela Tiwari Hospital in Haldwani,” he said.

Singh surrendered before the SIT in Rudrapur on November 23.

In March, the then Kumaon commissioner D Senthil Pandiyan unearthed the scam in procurement of land for construction of the NH-74 in Udham Singh Nagar district.

The nature of the land was allegedly changed from agricultural to commercial under Section 143 of Zamidari Abolishment and Land Reforms Act, 1950.

Farmers were allegedly given inflated compensation in collusion with revenue officials.

An FIR was lodged on March 11 against nearly 100 people, including revenue and National Highway Authority of India officials.

Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat suspended six state civil service officials, including Singh, in April.

First Published: Nov 25, 2017 20:37 IST