Chandigarh: Two months after he was accused of sexual misconduct, Punjab cabinet minister Lal Chand Kataruchak finds himself in the middle of yet another political storm. Opposition parties in Punjab are now accusing him of facilitating an alleged land scam in which a district development officer known to him is the prime suspect.
Punjab’s Vigilance Bureau Thursday registered an FIR against Kuldeep Singh, a retired District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO) who was given the charge of additional deputy commissioner (ADC) of Pathankot in February this year. Kuldeep Singh has been accused of illegally transferring nearly 92 acres of panchayat land in Pathankot’s Gol village to some private parties.
Seven other people have been booked in the case, of whom two have been arrested. The police are looking for the rest.
In a letter to Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit Friday, Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa demanded a judicial Commission of Inquiry into the scam. He also accused Minister for Forests & Wildlife and Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Kataruchak of having “specially transferred the DDPO to Pathankot just ahead of his retirement” to benefit private individuals who were also known to Kataruchak.
According to reports in The Tribune, Kataruchak, who is also an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Bhoa, had recommended that Kuldeep Singh hold the additional charge of Pathankot ADC. The officer got the charge on 24 February — four days before his retirement.
My letter to Honourable Governor Punjab, Banwari Lal Purohit ji seeking a judicial probe in 92 acre Panchayti land scam in Pathankot. Role of Aam Aadmi Party ministers, officials and private individuals close to ministers needs to be judicial probed thoroughly. pic.twitter.com/dMP7YsfiUv
— Partap Singh Bajwa (@Partap_Sbajwa) August 11, 2023
Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia also added to the chorus, demanding action against Kataruchak as well as another cabinet minister, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal.
ThePrint reached Kataruchak via phone and text messages and Dhaliwal via text messages. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
Opposition demands dismissal
In a post on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) Friday, Congress leader and Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira claimed the entire exercise against DDPO Kuldeep Singh “is meaningless” unless Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann takes action against Kataruchak.
The entire exercise of action against Ddpo Kuldeep Singh & Co in the 100 acres land scam of Pathankot is meaningless unless @BhagwantMann takes action against the real culprit tainted Minister Kataruchak and dismisses him from the cabinet as the said land being in the catchment… pic.twitter.com/3XixLT1ihW
— Sukhpal Singh Khaira (@SukhpalKhaira) August 11, 2023
BJP’s Sirsa, meanwhile, alleged that Dhaliwal was also responsible for Kuldeep Singh to get the additional charge of ADC, Pathankot. This, he claimed, was done to help facilitate the transfer of land to private persons.
“Would CM @BhagwantMann ji initiate enquiry & action against AAP ministers Lal Chand Kataruchak & Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal? They both assigned a tainted DDPO additional duties as ADC, Pathankot with the aim of transferring 100 acres of valuable panchayati land to Pvt (sic) individuals for personal gains! AAP’s level of corruption is the New high and Badlaav in the state,” he said in his X post.
Majithia, a former Punjab minister, announced that his party SAD will launch a statewide protest unless the government acts.
It is two days since the @Akali_Dal demanded the resignations of cabinet ministers @LC_Kataruchak & @KuldeepSinghAAP for colluding with each other to give two promotions to a tainted BDPO & posting him as ADC 1 week before his retirement to solicit transfer of 100 acres of…
— Bikram Singh Majithia (@bsmajithia) August 10, 2023
Earlier this week, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal had demanded a CBI probe into the scam alleging that the land was handed over to private parties with the intention of using it for illegal mining.
We demand a CBI inquiry into the entire issue to determine the money trail as well as identify all those who were party to this corrupt act. The link between the two ministers and the ultimate beneficiaries who were given a benefit of crores of rupees… pic.twitter.com/2TeAcWQBNG
— Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) August 8, 2023
As the Opposition tried to corner his government, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema told the press that the subject was under investigation and since it was “sub-judice”, he could not comment on it.
Khaira was quick to point out that the case was not sub-judice, and therefore, nothing stopped the Punjab government from giving its view.
I’m surprised at legal understanding of @HarpalCheemaMLA Fm an Advocate himself,as he’s wrongly interpreting the term Sub-Judice when asked about the role of Minister Kataruchak in the 92 acres land scam in below video! Sub-Judice term applies to a matter pending trial in the… pic.twitter.com/Dd0lZXxEMH
— Sukhpal Singh Khaira (@SukhpalKhaira) August 11, 2023
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‘Prima facie willful and malafide’
After the news broke out, Punjab Chief Secretary Anurag Verma reportedly directed the state’s financial commissioner, rural development and panchayats, to have an FIR registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
A statement issued by the chief secretary’s office last week said an inquiry found irregularities in the land transfer. It found that the land was transferred on 27 February this year — a day before Kuldeep Singh was to retire.
“Kuldeep Singh was posted as ADC (D) Pathankot on 24-2-2023 which was a Friday. He was to retire on 28-2-2023 i.e. Tuesday. So, he listed the case for hearing on the very next working day i.e. 27-2-2023 (Monday). Kuldeep Singh decided the case in favour of private petitioners on 27-2-2023 itself. He did not bother to give any opportunity to the Gram Panchayat to bring its evidence on record,” the statement said.
The statement added that the officer did not take documents, such as jamabandis, into account while making the transfer.
Jamabandi is a land record-of-rights of a village that contains information such as name of owners, area and shares of owners, and also details such as rent and revenue and other taxes payable on land.
The inquiry, the statement said, found that the actions were “prima facie willful and malafide” and caused “a loss of crores of rupees to the gram panchayat”.
Sexual misconduct allegations
This is the second controversy involving Kataruchak in the past four months. In May, Kataruchak was accused of sexual misconduct by a Gurdaspur-based male victim against Kataruchak.
Soon after he received a complaint, Governor Purohit had asked the Mann government to dismiss Kataruchak. However, the government is yet to take any action.
Bajwa mentions this in his latest letter to the governor.
“How indispensable Sh. Lal Chand Kataruchak is by the present government in Punjab is evident from the fact that as per the allegations which had been levelled against Sh. Lal Chand Kataruchak earlier regarding an objectionable video, he had befriended the victim and had sexually exploited him on the promise of a government job on becoming MLA,” the letter says, adding that after the chief minister had constituted a Special Investigation Team to “hush up the matter”.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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