By IANS,
Shimla : A senior police officer in Himachal Pradesh, arrested on charges of cheating a businessman, has filed a complaint against Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal for abusing power and possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income, officials here said Tuesday.
“Additional Director General of Police B.S. Thind, who was arrested last week on charges of cheating, conspiracy and intimidation of a businessman, has filed a complaint against the chief minister in the Lokayukta (people’s court),” said an official of the Lokayukta.
The Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, who is facing a number of cheating and forgery cases in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, has accused Dhumal of having property disproportionate to his known sources of income. He claimed that some of the properties were not even registered in the chief minister’s name but were bought by him.
The chief minister said there was no substance in the allegations levelled against him by the suspended police official.
“The Lokayukta is free to look into the complaint. It’s a revengeful act but I will cooperate,” Dhumal told IANS.
Thind had also filed complaints against Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Ashwani Kumar, Director General of Police (Vigilance) D.S. Manhas and Inspector General of Police S.R. Mardi, accusing them of indulging in corrupt practices, officials said.
He filed the complaint on April 4, the day he was arrested following the businessman’s complaint.
Thind, who was released on bail Monday, was arrested on the complaint of Chandigarh-based businessman Ashok Mittal.
Mittal, in a complaint to the police, gave an audio CD to the police as taped evidence of Thind demanding Rs.600,000 from him for getting his shop vacated by tenants at Parwanoo town in Solan district.
The case pertains to 2004 when Thind was posted as additional director general of police (law and order).
In June 2008, Dhumal directed the police to register a case against Thind.
The state government in January this year suspended Thind after the CBI framed charges against him in a land transaction case in a Punjab court. At that time he was posted as ADGP (Lokayukta).
The CBI arrested Thind in October 2006 in a land transaction case. He was accused of availing loans from different banks by mortgaging the same property. At that time, he was in judicial custody for 14 days.
One more case is pending against Thind in Punjab. He is accused of grabbing land from an NRI on a fake power of attorney.