The State Government has finally relieved the high- profile officer of Indian Police Services (IPS), Sadanand Date- the senior superintendent of police (SSP), Udham Singh Nagar who was heading the Special Investigation Team ( SIT) constituted to probe the National Highway ( NH) -74 land acquisition and compensation scam,- for assignment in Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI).
His deputation was being sought by the premier investigation agency for quite some time.
However, things did not move as the State Government was reluctant to relieve him, keeping in view the fact that he was heading a very sensitive inquiry into the NH- 74 scam.
The Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat had publically stated that Date would be relieved only after the investigation in NH- 74 scam was completed. In the order released on Saturday, the principal secretary, home Anand Vardhan relieved Date for the central assignment.
Interestingly, Date has been relieved at a time when SIT has nearly completed its investigation and sought permission of the government for the prosecution of Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer Pankaj Kumar Pandey.
On the report of the SIT, the State Government had earlier suspended Pandey and another IAS officer Chandresh Kumar Yadav. In its report, the SIT is believed to have cast doubt over the role played by these officers in their respective capacity as arbitrators of land compensation disputes when they were the district magistrate of Udham Singh Nagar.
After the scam had come to fore thanks to then Kumaon commissioner, D Senthil Pandian in 2017, CM Trivendra Singh Rawat had sought a probe by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
However, the Centre having refused to act on the request, CM had ordered SIT probe headed by SSP Udham Singh Nagar Date to investigate the case.
At least two dozen officers, including some Provincial Civil Services (PCS) officers deployed as ADM and SDMs, are now cooling their heels in jails for their alleged involvement in the multi- core scam which is believed to have occurred in the period between 2011 and 2016 when work on widening the Haridwar- Bareilly National Highway (NH --74) was taking place.
The scam is about some agricultural lands being shown as non- agricultural ones in revenue record to make way for much higher compensation to be given to the farmers whose lands were acquired with the alleged complicity of some of the officers.
