5-year jail for retired Col

Chandigarh, August 22

The special CBI court here today sentenced Col BS Guraya (retd) to five years in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on him in a disproportionate assets case. Judge Gagangeet Kaur also ordered that disproportionate assets worth Rs 66.94 lakh of Colonel Goraya would be confiscated by the state. He was found guilty under Sections 13 (1) (e) and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and was taken into police custody on August 18. The case had been pending for 28 years.

Colonel Guraya’s family members were present in the court. Later, they were seen in deep discussion outside the court as they awaited a copy of the judgment.

Colonel Guraya’s counsel SPS Bhullar said they would approach the High Court “as soon as possible”. He expressed displeasure over the “delay” in the judgment. “The sentence was announced after 5 pm; it shows lack of preparation on the part of the Judge,” said Bhullar.

It was stated that between January 1987 and August 1990, Colonel Guraya, as a serving Army officer, and some others had acquired properties worth Rs 82.58 lakh. The properties were disproportionate to his known sources of income. The CBI court, during the trial, had also attached the Sector 9 house of the former Army officer. — TNS