Chandigarh Tribune: Chandigarh: Wednesday,
May 04, 2016.
Politicians,
bureaucrats and police officers are a privileged lot when it comes to the
allotment of foreign-made weapons that are seized from smugglers, terrorists
and other criminals.
The weapons,
mostly 7.65-mm pistols and .315-bore rifles, are also being allotted at less
than their market prices, according to the data compiled by the Punjab Police.
This data
pertaining to the allotments made between January 2009 and November 2015 was
placed before the Punjab Information Commission today after Bathinda resident
Narender Sharma was denied information sought under the RTI Act.
Among the 428
listed beneficiaries are Local Bodies Minister Anil Joshi; Panchayat and Rural
Development Minister Sikander Singh Maluka; the latter’s son, Gurpreet Singh
Maluka; Ferozepur MP Sher Singh Ghubaya; former Punjab BJP president Kamal
Sharma; two sons of Punjab Assembly Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal; former
Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon; and officers on special duty to the Deputy Chief
Minister, Bhai Sukhdeep Singh and Charanjeet Singh.
Officers
posted at the Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur, are also among the
beneficiaries. IPS officer Rohit Chaudhary and his wife are among the allottees
of 7.65-mm pistols. Among the bureaucrats are DS Bains, Chairman of the Punjab
State Regulatory Electricity Commission, his son, Ganeev, Rajat Agarwal and
Varun Roojam.
The
Commission had observed that withholding information gave rise to the suspicion
of a “biased” exercise. The next date of hearing is June 1.
.JPG)
.JPG)
