Police society directed to refund Rs 10.5L to ADGP

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, June 25

Hearing a petition on the non-transfer of a house despite payment, the District Consumer Disputes Redresal Forum has directed Police Welfare Co-operative Multipurpose Welfare Society Ltd to refund Rs10.50 lakh with 12 per cent interest since 2005 to ADGP Rohit Chowdhary.

After not getting the house or money back for 15 years, the ADGP, through his advocate Vikas Kumar, had filed a petition against the society with the consumer forum. On hearing the arguments of Rohit’s counsel, the forum ordered the society to refund the money with interest in one month.

Rohit had booked a house in a police colony, planned by the society on 108 acres, in Kotshamir village. For this, he had paid Rs10. 50 lakh to the society in 2005, but even after 15 years, he was neither given possession of the house nor was refunded the money.

In 2004-05, retired and serving officers of the Punjab Police had planned to develop a residential police colony on 108 acres on the outskirts of Kotshamir village and to offer houses at a low price to police officers. As many as 718 police officials had deposited around Rs24 crore with the society under the scheme.

The society had acquired 108 acres for the project, but work failed to complete following the allegation of irregularities in funds.

Society members alleged that they had deposited their money, but they had got nothing. They said they were running pillar to post to get their money back.

A Special Investigation Team, in its probe, had stated that a senior police officer had started the scheme on its own, without taking any approval from the government.