Zirakpur: Five accused get anticipatory bail in ₹100-crore land grab case

A special CBI court in Mohali on Friday granted anticipatory bail to five accused in a land-grab case involving eight acres of prime property worth ₹100 crore near VIP Road in Zirakpur.

Among the five accused granted anticipatory bail are three public servants, including DSP Kuljinder Singh, retired tehsildar Harminder Singh Sidhu and retired sub-registrar Kuldeep Singh, apart from Rajeev Kumar and Harjeet Singh Sachdeva.

The court directed the accused to appear before the special judicial magistrate, CBI, Mohali, on May 5 for trial proceedings. In all, 16 accused have been summoned on May 5.

In line with a Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) order in October 2023, the CBI had taken over probe in the matter in November 2023. Previously, Mohali police had registered two separate cases at the Zirakpur and Dera Bassi police stations in March 2022 and October 2023, respectively.

The petitioner, Guru Nanak Vidya Bhandar Trust, Daryaganj, New Delhi, had moved the high court, seeking transfer of the probe to CBI.

As per the plea, the trust, which is over 100 years old, had purchased various properties from time to time. Among these was a chunk of 8 acres, worth ₹100 crore, along the Zirakpur-Patiala highway, which was purchased in 1986.

Allegations are that the accused conspired to seize the trust’s land by creating a fake trust with a similar name after forging documents. On March 10, 2022, they reportedly sent armed men to forcibly occupy the property.