A local court on Wednesday remanded former Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) CMD KD Chaudhary, former Senior XEN Sanjeev Prabhakar, and Amit Garg, Director of Damini Resort and Builders Private Limited, to two days of police custody in a case registered by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau.
The accused were produced before Judge Pavleen Singh amid tight security following their arrest by the Vigilance Bureau in connection with alleged irregularities in the installation of the 66 kV Basant Avenue substation.
VB public prosecutor Balwinder Singh sought a four-day police remand for all three, arguing that the matter was still at an initial stage and required detailed investigation. He submitted that sufficient time was needed to interrogate the accused and investigate the entire chain of events to ascertain how PSPCL officers allegedly extended an undue benefit to a coloniser and committed violations while facilitating the installation of the substation.
The prosecution further contended that custodial interrogation was necessary to unearth the larger conspiracy and identify each accused’s role in the alleged irregularities.
The defence opposed the remand plea. Counsel for KD Chaudhary and Sanjeev Prabhakar argued that Chaudhary had retired about 15 years ago, while Prabhakar retired nearly four years ago. The defence maintained that the entire case was based on documentary evidence already in the Vigilance Bureau’s possession, and therefore prolonged custodial interrogation would serve no useful purpose.
Senior advocate Parupkar Ghumman, representing KD Chaudhary, alleged that the arrest itself was illegal. He further contended that the Vigilance Bureau had violated Supreme Court guidelines by not furnishing proper grounds of arrest to the accused.
After hearing both sides, the court remanded all three accused to police custody for two days.
Meanwhile, Vigilance Bureau officials said that during the installation of the 66 kV Basant Avenue substation, the Basant Avenue coloniser, allegedly in connivance with PSPCL field officers, had the substation installed on about 1,015 square yards within the colony premises. The VB is investigating whether any rules or norms were violated and whether any undue benefits were granted to the private coloniser.
