HC orders CBI probe into FIR lodged at Tota Singh’s behest

The Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into a 2014 first information report (FIR) registered by the Moga police, allegedly at the behest of Punjab agriculture minister Tota Singh and his son Makhan Singh.

The order was passed by the high court bench of justice Rajan Gupta on the petition of one Kulbir Singh, former chairman of the Dharamkot Primary Cooperative Agricultural Development Bank. The detailed order is awaited.

Petitioner’s lawyer ML Saggar said the FIR was registered against Kulbir and some other persons on March 24, 2014, for cheating, adulteration of food or drink intended for sale and under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, after the seizure of two milk tankers claimed to have been of Kulbir.

“The local police had filed a challan but a report prepared by the Moga chief judicial magistrate following the high court orders presented a contrary picture, which became the basis of transfer of the probe from Punjab Police to the CBI,” Saggar added.

The high court had issued a notice to Tota Singh and his son in May 2015.

The proceedings in trial court on the FIR have been stayed and Punjab Police have been asked to hand over the record by May 31.

According to the petition, the FIR was a result of “political vendetta”. The court was told the elections of directors of the bank were to be held on February 12, 2014. Kulbir wanted to contest the elections, but he and his supporters were pushed out of the election venue by the cops of Fatehgarh Panjtoor in Moga, and the doors were shut on them.

It was done at the behest of the minister as he wanted to have his own men as directors, the court was told.

Following this, Kulbir approached the high court challenging the elections, but when the notice was served on the minister, the “false” case was registered in order to “pressurise” him to withdraw the case.