After clean chit, contractors approach High Court against Punjab Vigilance Bureau

FARIDKOT: The Vigilance Bureau (VB) is finding it difficult to pursue a criminal case registered against five contractors for the alleged offence of committing irregularities in accepting labour, cartage and transportation tenders here.

While the VB has presented a challan in the case in a court here, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has stayed further proceedings before the trial court.

Accusing the VB of becoming a tool in the hands of the complainant and a business rival, the accused had approached the high court, claiming that they had been implicated in a false case.

The accused said that even as they had been given a clean chit by Principal Secretary, Food Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Department, on November 14, 2019, the VB had registered this case in September 2022, 3 years after the disposal of complaint against them.

A case under Sections 420, 409, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC and Sections 7, 8, 12 and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered against them after the VB claimed that the lists of vehicles submitted by the contractors for transportation included unverified registration numbers of scooters, motorcycles, cars and other vehicles.

Due to their alleged connivance with the contractors, department officials in the district tender committee did not verify these vehicles in Kotkapura and Jaito.

Rishu Mittal, Pawan Kumar, Vishu Mittal, Prem Chand and Yogesh Gupta are the accused contractors. The role of suspect employees in the department is under probe.

The VB claimed that the accused contractors had provided fake registration numbers of vehicles in the lists attached to the transportation tenders submitted in 2019-20.

The VB had alleged that the officers concerned of the department and procurement agencies had paid bills to the contractors on the basis of gate passes without verification.

Opposing the VB case, the accused had placed on record an order of Principal Secretary, Food Supplies Department, according to which the allegations in respect of fake registration numbers was without credible supporting evidence.