In a pre-dawn swoop on Thursday, multiple teams of the State Economic Offences Investigation and Anti Corruption Bureau (SEOIACB) mounted concurrent search and seizure operations on 15 premises of Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Gurjinder Pal Singh. However, there was no official confirmation about the arrest of G P Singh, post the search operations even as an offence has been registered against the errant officer under relevant Sections of Prevention of Corruption Act (Amended) 2018. In all, the SEOIACB sleuths covered several premises of G P Singh, his close friends, and other confidantes based in Raipur, Durg and Rajnandgaon districts during the swoop commenced concurrently at 5.30 am on Thursday.

 

However, it is for the first time in the annals of Chhattisgarh, that SEOIACB has undertaken such a major action against a senior IPS officer of ADGP rank in a disproportionate income case. Say it a mere coincidence that the swoop on G P Singh took place just a day after the state government effected a historic major reshuffle of 42 IPS officers in Chhattisgarh. “The search operations were fallout of a ‘preliminary enquiry’ (PE) carried out by Anti Corruption watchdogs based on a specific complaint of disproportionate income, including movable and immovable assets amassed by ADGP Singh, regarding which the SEOIACB has found concrete evidences leading to unaccounted money trails worth crores,” a knowledgeable source told ‘The Hitavada’ requesting anonymity. It is pertinent here to recall ADGP Singh, a 1994-batch IPS, himself headed as SEOIACB Chief about a year ago, before the State Government transferred him as Director of State Police Academy in June 2020. Earlier, Singh has also served as Range IG in Bilaspur, Durg and Raipur. According to the sources, the personal residence of G P Singh, located in posh Pension Bada Colony, behind Police Lines in capital Raipur, was swarming with SEOIACB personnel, who were rummaging through every visible space inside the house from where incriminating evidences can be found and seized.

 

“Here the SEOIACB found several torn up loose papers, which were apparently attempted to destroy since it pertained with investment into buying immovable assets such as plots, a plush independent house, residential flats etc.,” the sources added. Moreover, if the sources testimonies are to be accounted for, the SEOIACB armed with search warrant had to face resistance from the family members of the officer when they reached his residence around 5.30 am. “SEOIACB enforcers were prevented from entering the house and made to wait for over half-an-hour. During this crucial time window, digital footprints of money trail on laptops and other forms of digital devices were formatted in a hush, apart from destroying other incriminating documents, albeit they were seized later from the spot in whatever form they were available then after they somehow managed to get inside the premise,” the sources revealed. Apropos, another team of SEOIACB was also engaged in extensive searches at Shagun Farms, another major premise situated on VIP Road in Raipur, belonging to one Priptal Singh Chandokh, a close contact of G P Singh. “The complaint based on which ACB initiated the preliminary enquiry and now the searches, had due mention of unaccounted income being invested by Pritpal Singh Chandhok at the behest of G P Singh. Around a year ago, the Income Tax Department had conducted a swoop on Shagun Farms wherein the taxmen had found evidence of Benaami investments done by some bureaucrats, but the findings of the swoop were never made public by the tax enforcers,” the sources pointed out.

 

Similarly, searches were also underway at two more premises, first belonging to a Rajnandgaon-based Rajesh Jain and the other to a person identified as a civil contractor Sunil Balani in Raipur. “The aforesaid two persons have long acquaintance with the officer, with regards to some investments aimed at routing of disproportionate income. Paper trails and digital evidence have been found from their possession that leads to their connection with the officer,” the sources maintained. Most importantly, sources also disclosed that the searches have found credible evidence of a major investment deal done by the officer with an iconic real estate promoter of Chhattisgarh based in Raipur. “The deal involved in purchase of a prime residential property, situated in the proximity of a shopping mall, for which upfront booking amount to the tune of Rs 70 lakh took place between the officer and the real estate promoter through a third party, whereas remaining transaction of Rs 10 lakh were undertaken to project some loan pay-off. This transaction was meant for buying a premium property worth nearly Rs 3 crore, although the deal was later cancelled and booking amount was returned to the third person,” the sources revealed.

 

Likewise, other teams of SEOIACB were also searching at multiple other locations in Raipur, including Vishal Nagar, Awanti Vihar Colony, Telibandha, VIP Road and village Pirda, where the immovable properties have been bought by the officers’ close contact Pritpal Singh Chandhok in his name and family members, the sources averred. SEOIACB has been minutely examining several documents in its possession, pertaining to immovable properties, which this newspaper reporter has also managed to access and obtain its photocopies. “The department has been discreetly working on the case for the past over a month to validate the complaint based on which the preliminary enquiry was conducted. Most importantly, the searches were carried out after meticulous planning of over a week,” concluded the sources.