Shimla: The Himachal government on Wednesday revoked the suspension of Subhash Ahluwalia – senior IAS officer, who was the private secretary of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh and is facing corruption charges in a case of disproportionate assets.
Daljit Dogra, secretary personnel disclosed that the suspension of Subhash Ahluwalia stands revoked with immediate effect. “It is a normal administrative decision,†he said.
What has come as a surprise is that the government decision to revoke the suspension came within a week after union steel minister Virbhadra Singh paid a courtesy call on chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal here on his first visit to the city after being inducted to the union cabinet.
Ahluwalia’s name had figured in a charge sheet, which BJP as an opposition party had then submitted to the governor seeking an investigation.
On being returned to power in December, 2007, the Dhumal government instituted and inquiry and investigators made out a case of disproportionate asset case against the bureaucrat.
A case was registered on May 22, 2008 and the house and office of the bureaucrat were raided. Documents and computers were seized.
The vigilance sleuths came up with an undeclared income of Rs 2.30 crore for a five year period under scrutiny whereas according to the police investigation salary and other incomes of both husband and wife Meera Walia should not have exceeded more than Rs 60.50 lakhs for the check period.
When investigators failed to get to the bottom of the unaccounted disproportionate amout, the bureaucrat was arrested from his Panchkula residence and taken into police remand.
The officer reporting ill and was admitted to hospital and the remand after being extended once was converted into judicial custody.
The High Court granted reprieve and bail was allowed. A police application for conducting a narco test on the bureaucrat and his wife was also disallowed by the court.
With the officers arrest, first he was put under deemed suspension and later the government put out orders of formally suspending him.
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads a team of media professionals at Hill Post.
Spanning a career of over two decades in mass communication, as a Documentary Filmmaker, TV journalist, Print Media journalist and with Online & Social Media, he brings with him a vast experience. He lives in Shimla.
The government should not have suspended him in the first place. Ravinder, you should first try to understand the current facts before delving into the past.
God bless Ahluwalia !!
Pankaj,
Without taking sides to the issue, I have just reported the facts.
To put the whole matter into perspective, the background has to be brought out so that the reader is able to judge for himself.
This is all to remain transparent in the contentious case.
Agreed Pankaj!!!
Seems the BJP govt is only interested in filing cases (just before elections) and do not have the guts to take these cases to a logical conclusions. As mentioned in your story even if Ahluwalia has been re-instated but what is the explanation of 2.30 crore income for the past 5 years? What happened to the investigation of charges framed on Singhi Ram. He was put under detention for a charge which does not merit any case against him in the court of law. Why does Mr. Dhumal tries to be on a higher moral ground, before elections, when both Congress and BJP are just scratching each other backs. As the ‘meeting’ between those two starlwarts suggest, BJP too have skeletons to hide!
Well, Mr. Ahluwalia is a man of an elegant and a just, transparent demeanour.
It was just the BJP’s way- an savage way rather, of trying to put him down, which ofcourse did not happen because he is an intelligent, highly educated, and an amazing human being who seldon get affected by such raw behaviour- BJP’s in this case… He got what he he was meant for and apart from that he deserves much more ! In his tenure with the government, he has done everything in his capacity to see the state making progress. He is the most learned, smart, wonderful, peaceloving official our Himachal has ever witnessed.. He is emodies genuinity, love for our state and is so completely perfection personified !!!! All these BJP politicians who just engage in political vendetta. They can not touch the skin of Mr. Ahluwalia with all there non sensical crap.. And as Pankaj states- God bless Him !!!!!!