Chandigarh: In a curious case of alleged missing compensation, where beneficiaries claim they never received payment despite official records asserting full disbursement more than two decades ago, a local court in Gurgaon has ordered a criminal investigation into a long-standing land acquisition dispute. Citing serious discrepancies between official and banking records related to the purported disbursal of funds, the court directed the registration of a FIR and ordered the constitution of a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to probe the decades-old compensation case. “This court is left with no other option except to send the matter to Commissioner of Police, Gurgaon, with a direction to get register an FIR in the matter and to get probed the matter by constituting SIT so that truth comes out and the matter be taken to logical end,” the court has ordered.Dr Gagan Geet Kaur, additional district and sessions judge Gurgaon, passed these orders while hearing an application filed by Murti Devi and others. In this case, acquired land compensation amount of Rs 37.78 lakh has been deposited through cheque No.681461 dated December 1, 2000 was converted into six DDs and has been disbursed as per Land Acquisition Collector (LAC) and Bank Manager`s affidavit. While the beneficiary, who has fought rounds of litigation upto high court has taken plea they have never received said payment. On this, serious questions arose before the local court as to whom and how it has been disbursed if it was not disbursed to the claimants. After hearing the matter and examining the entire record, the court observed that in the entire court file, there is no mention of any payment through cheque or DD or any other mode either deposited in court or released by any court order. The officials also failed to explain this point. According to court, the affidavit dated February 6 of the bank manager submitted through counsel also does not disclose if the amount was withdrawn then by whom and when it was withdrawn. Not disclosing the name of the beneficiary of the amount on the pretext of merger of OBC Bank with PNB Bank is very evasive and vague explanation, hence needs thorough probe. “There is one more fact which makes the story of disbursement of payment doubtful as in the year 2000, the compensation amount was used to be deposited in treasury but deviating from said settled procedure the payment through cheque was converted into six DDs which were further stated to be disbursed but there is no record with bank to whom it was disbursed.“The court also highlighted several “doubtful” discrepancies in official records, including overwriting in dispatch registers, blue-ink entries amidst black-pen records, and inconsistent reference numbers that failed to match court files.
