Taking serious note of Independent MLA Balraj Kundu levelling corruption charges against former Haryana cabinet minister Manish Grover, Home Minister Anil Vij on Tuesday formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Urban Local Body director Amit Aggarwal to look into this issue thoroughly.
The Home Minister has also directed SIT in-charge to complete the investigation within a month.
Meham MLA Kundu recently met Vij and registered a complaint against Grover with "evidence" . The MLA had apparently handed over documents related to scam involving crores of rupees against Grover, a minister in the previous BJP government in the state.
Talking to The Pioneer, Vij said, “Meham MLA Balraj Kundu had earlier met me at the Secretariat and registered a complaint regarding corruption in urban local bodies. I have constituted a SIT to look into this issue thoroughly.”
When contacted MLA Kundu said, “I welcome Home Minister Anil Vij’s decision of constituting SIT to look into corruption charges against the ex-Minister. However I have not been informed so far.”
Sources said that in the complaint to Home Minister, Kundu had demanded inquiry against Grover for allegedly allotting development projects in Rohtak to his relatives and favourite contractors by ignoring rules and regulations. He had also alleged that Grover was also responsible for large scale irregularities in sugar mills across the State during his tenure as cooperatives minister.
Kundu alleged that a case of criminal breach of trust was registered against him at the behest of Grover. He alleged that the former minister pressurised the administration to implicate him in false case after he raised corruption charges against Grover.
A case was registered on January 17 against Balraj Kundu and his brother Shivraj under relevant Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to cheating, conspiracy and criminal breach of trust on a complaint lodged by one Narender Dhankhar
Narender Dhankar had alleged that the (Kundu) brothers, who run a construction company, were not paying money to him which they owed to him during business transactions.
Taking serious note of an FIR against him and his brother, Kundu who had earlier supported the coalition government unconditionally, had threatened to withdraw support to the BJP- JJP government in Haryana if chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar fails to order a probe into allegations of corruption against Grover within a month. Grover is counted among the BJP leaders close to CM Manohar Lal Khattar.
Kundu had earlier said, “I have been chosen as an MLA by the constituency. It is my moral duty to expose those who had looted public money.” "I have been raising my voice against corruption. Such false cases will not suppress my voice," he had said.
The formation of the SIT by Vij comes in the backdrop of the seven Independent MLAs who had given unconditional support to the BJP-JJP led- coalition government holding a meeting recently under the chairmanship of MLA from Rania and Haryana Power Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala.
They had strongly opposed the case filed against Kundu and his brother.
Previously Kundu who was associated with BJP had said, “We had extended the support to the BJP-JJP government because of "clean credentials" of the chief minister.”