Prakash Singh Badal acquittal lands IPS officers in soup

Two days after Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, wife Surinder Kaur and deputy chief minister-son Sukhbir Badal were acquitted in a seven-year-old corruption and disproportionate assets case by a special court in Mohali, senior opposition leader Ravi Inder Singh demanded on Sunday that the case be reinvestigated in view of the fact that all 137 witnesses had turned hostile.

Adding to the discomfort of the Badals, the court has ordered that a perjury case be registered against investigating and supervisory officers Surinder Pal Singh and BK Uppal, both IPS.

The corruption case was registered by the vigilance bureau (VB) during Congress chief minister Amarinder Singh’s term in 2003. Initial investigation revealed the Badals had reportedly amassed property worth Rs2,300 crore disproportionate to their sources of income.

The case started deflating after Badal took over as chief minister in 2007, with all witnesses backtracking in the past three years. To begin with, SP Singh sought to modify the charge sheet “in view of certain new facts that came to light” .

The government “rewarded” him by making him an officer on special duty in VB after his superannuation last year.
Uppal also resiled saying the case was prepared by Singh and he was only a supervisor.