A day after senior IAS officer Sanjay Popli and his accomplice was arrested for allegedly demanding “one percent commission” for clearance of tenders for laying of sewerage pipeline at Nawanshahr, two more contractors from Haryana’s Karnal have submitted a complaint against the bureaucrat accusing him of demanding “two percent commission” from them.
Punjab Chief Minister’s Office has received complaints from Karnal-based contractors alleging that Popli had demanded two percent commission from them in lieu of payment for laying sewerage lines in Morinda and Talwara. One of them, from one Rajesh Construction Company, has alleged that he was called to a hotel in Jalandhar where the IAS officer had even threatened him to stop his payment of Rs 16 crore if the two percent commission was not paid.
“I was called for a meeting on December 12, 2021, in a Jalandhar hotel. He also threatened me to implicate in a false case. On December 14, Popli called me to the office, and demanded Rs five lakh. I asked for the money from a friend and then gave it to the person sent by Popli,” said the contractor.
Notably, Popli’s arrest was made on late Monday night following a complaint by a Haryana-based government contractor on the state government’s anti-corruption helpline. Karnal-resident Sanjay Kumar, a government contractor with a firm under the name of Dikhadala Cooperative Society Limited, in his complaint, stated that Popli and his accomplice Sandeep Wats had demanded a cut of one percent for clearance of tenders for Rs 7.30 crores pertaining to sewerage works from him.
At that time, Popli was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board before he was transferred as Director Pensions in May; while Wats was posted as the assistant secretary in the Board.
On late Tuesday evening, the Chandigarh Police had also booked Popli under sections of the Arms Act for possessing ammunition illegally. During searches at his house, the Vigilance Bureau had found 41 live cartridges of 7.65 bore, two cartridges or 32 bore, and 30 cartridges of .22 bore. The Sector 11 police station in Chandigarh then proceeded to book Popli under the Arms Act.
