By IANS
Chandigarh : The Punjab and Haryana High Court Thursday quashed the inquiry against former director general of police (DGP) S.S. Virk by Punjab’s vigilance department and asked for a new team be constituted for fresh probe within a week’s time.
Justice H.S. Bhalla ordered that the existing probe team in the disproportionate assets and corruption case against Virk be disbanded within one week and directed the Punjab home secretary to set up a new probe panel under the supervision of a senior superintendent of police (SSP) rank officer to probe the case.
However, a request for a probe by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the case, as demanded by Virk through his counsel, was turned down by the court.
The Punjab viginace department in Novemeber last year had arrested Virk, a 1970-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Maharashtra cadre, after registering corruption and disproportionate assets case against him.
He was also charged with duping a widow of her land at Kharar town, 20 km from here. The land is worth millions of rupees.
Virk was DGP of Punjab under the previous Amarinder Singh regime in the state. The Parkash Singh Badal-led Akali Dal government suspended him after coming to power March last year. However, he went back to his parent state Maharashtra and continues to be a serving DGP rank officer.
Justice Bhalla had Wednesday, during hearing of the case, come down heavily on Punjab’s vigilance director Sumedh Singh Saini. The high court also questioned the Punjab government’s role in appointing Saini, a controversial officer, to the post.
Virk, in his application, had pointed out that Saini was out to settle scores with him.
The high court had already raised objections to the investigating officer in the case, Surinder Pal Singh, who himself had been a beneficiary of a plot allotted from Virk’s land.