Chandigarh, February 12,
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has arrested Sukhdev Singh of Chandigarh, a key accused in the 2016-17 “Guava Orchard Scam” in Bakarpur village, SAS Nagar district. Singh fraudulently received approximately ₹12 crore in compensation, deposited into his and his wife’s accounts, through collusion with government officials and others.
A VB spokesperson stated that Singh actively participated in the criminal conspiracy, engaging in cheating, forgery, and record falsification, causing significant loss to the state and gaining illicit financial benefits through bribery.
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The investigation revealed that Singh purchased land in Bakarpur village to illegally claim compensation for guava orchards during the Aerotropolis project land acquisition. He conspired with Bhupinder Singh of Bakarpur to falsely show fruit-bearing guava orchards on the land and bribed the Horticulture Development Officer to certify the trees as over three years old, thus eligible for compensation.
Singh and Bhupinder Singh agreed that Singh would cover all expenses, including bribes, and Bhupinder Singh would receive two-thirds of the fraudulently obtained compensation from the Land Acquisition Collector (LAC), Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA).
To facilitate the fraud, the original Khasra Girdawri revenue register (2016–2021) for Bakarpur village was destroyed and replaced with a forged register in 2019. Bhupinder Singh, with the help of revenue Patwari Bachittar Singh, manipulated land records to falsely reflect mature guava orchards. Subsequently, Sukhdev Singh and his wife, Harbinder Kaur, received ₹2,40,96,442 and ₹9,57,86,642, respectively, from LAC, GMADA.
To transfer Bhupinder Singh’s share, Singh sold land in Chappar Chiri and Kailon villages at undervalued prices to Bhupinder Singh after receiving the fraudulent compensation.
Despite repeated summons from the VB, Singh evaded legal proceedings and was uncooperative during the investigation. Unlike other co-accused, he neither surrendered the fraudulently obtained compensation nor sought anticipatory bail by depositing the required amount.
With this ₹12 crore recovery, the total recovered amount in the scam reaches ₹100 crore, as ₹86 crore had already been deposited by other co-accused. The VB has arrested seven government officials and 16 private individuals in this scam, and the investigation is ongoing.
