Punjab vigilance to file plea against ex-DGP Saini's release

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has decided to file a recall petition in the high court against the August 19 release orders of former Director General of Police (DGP) Sumedh Saini in a land fraud case and also against the court's interim bail order of August 12 in the disproportionate assets case.

The bureau will soon be moving the recall petitions in the two cases filed against Saini, a 1982-batch IPS officer.

Saini was arrested on August 18 in the land fraud case when he went to the Vigilance Bureau office late in the evening in connection with disproportionate assets case.

Saini had gone to the office in accordance with the high court orders awarding him interim bail subject to him joining the investigation within seven days of the grant of interim bail.

Ordering Saini's interim bail, the court had, on August 12 stated, "The petitioner is granted interim bail subject to his joining investigation within one week from today."

Pointing out that the ex-DGP had chosen to visit the Vigilance Bureau office late in the evening on the last day of the seven-day period, an official spokesperson for the bureau told the media that Saini had thus failed to follow the high court orders.

"Saini intentionally exhausted the seven-day period during which he had to join the investigation in accordance with the interim order and even then he arrived at the bureau office without any intimation to the investigation officer," said the spokesperson.

In the circumstances, the bureau had thus decided to file a petition before the court seeking the recall of the interim bail orders in the disproportionate assets case.

The case relates to 35 properties and certain bank accounts of Nimratdeep, with balance and transactions worth Rs 100 crore, including some in crores with Saini, leading to his undue enrichment, and exhibiting that he held assets far exceeding his income.

The spokesperson said sufficient ground was also made out in the land fraud case for the state to seek recall of the high court orders releasing Saini from detention.

Notably, the high court, in its order dated August 19 declared the detention of Saini "illegal in circumvented violation of protection orders dated October 11, 2018, September 23, 2020 and interim anticipatory bail order dated August 12, 2021".

The said land fraud case relates to Saini conspiring with one Surinderjit Singh Jaspal to forge a property purchase agreement. The bureau had charged Jaspal, who is the father of Nimratdeep, and Saini with conspiracy to prevent attachment of house number 3048 in Sector20-D in Chandigarh and had further accused them of creating a false agreement and using it as a valuable security.

Hence, Jaspal and Saini had committed offence, as per the Vigilance Bureau.