The special investigation team arrested a Provincial Civil Services (PCS) officer and a former Tehsildar in the national highway 74 scam late on Sunday night. The duo was arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act and other sections of the law. The two were presented in the Nainital district court on Monday by the SIT.
According to information provided by sources, on Sunday night the SIT arrested suspended PCS officer Anil Shukla from his government quarter. He had worked as the sub divisional magistrate of Rudrapur and Sitarganj and was also the special land acquisition officer (SlAO) in the past. Apart from him, the SIT also arrested Mohan Sinhgh, who had worked as the Tehsildar of lalkuan. The SIT tried to avoid publicity of the latest arrests made in the national highway 74 scam but the local media persons received some inputs. The media persons reached the district hospital as the two accused were to be brought here for a medical examination before being presented in the court. From the hospital, the SIT took the two accused out from the back door and transported them in a private car to the SIIDCUl police post fromwhere they were taken in a government vehicle to the Nainital district court. It is pertinent to mention here that while occupying the post of the SlAO, Shukla is accused of having connived with some farmers to facilitate release of compensation to them according to land rates for non-agricultural land. Other serious allegations have also been leveled at him. The other accused, Mohan Singh, who was working as the Tehsildar in lalkuan had earlier worked as the Nayab Tehsildar in the SlAO office in Udham Singh Nagar. It should be mentioned here that in this scam, about a dozen persons including suspended PCS officers DP Singh, Bhagat Singh Fonia and former Tehsildar Madan Singh Pandaliya have been arrested by the SIT so far. It will be recalled that after the scam was revealed following the inquiry by the then Kumaon commissioner, six PCS officers had been suspended. According to sources, the SIT is also investigating other persons including three PCS officers in this scam amounting to hundreds of crores of rupees.