Himachal cricket body now booked for felling trees
A large number of chir pine trees have been felled by the HPCA during the construction of The Pavilion, the residential complex, an official of the state's Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau said.
Another case was registered Friday against the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) for cutting trees for constructing a players' residential complex near the international stadium in Dharamsala, an official said here.
A large number of chir pine trees have been felled by the HPCA during the construction of The Pavilion, the residential complex, an official of the state's Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau told IANS.
The HPCA is led by BJP MP Anurag Thakur, son of Prem Kumar Dhumal, former chief minister of the state.
A case under Section 13 (2) (a public servant who commits criminal misconduct) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 447 (criminal trespass) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered by the vigilance bureau in its Dharamsala office.
The vigilance bureau had, on August 1, filed a cheating and misappropriation case against the HPCA over alleged wrong doing in allotment of land, which according to revenue records was common village land, to the sports association for constructing the residential complex.
The disputed land, three km from the picturesque stadium and 250 km from the state capital, has been used by the HPCA to build a five star residential complex called The Pavilion, which has 38 rooms, 32 huts and a high-tech gym.
The HPCA website calls it the "exotic residential resort".
The land was allotted when the BJP government, headed by Dhumal, Thakur's father, was in power in the state.
The HPCA has been accused of encroaching upon 3,000 sq m of land of the state sports and youth services department. The encroached portion is located near the main gate of the HPCA stadium here. A case in this regard was registered October 3.
Two Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers -- Deepak Sanan and R.S. Gupta -- were charge-sheeted by the state government July 26 for allegedly allowing the change in the land-use for building the HPCA residential complex.
HPCA president Thakur was grilled for over two hours by the vigilance bureau November 11 over affairs of the sports association.
Thakur, Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Hamirpur, appeared before the investigators for the first time since the registration of cases against the HPCA.
Soon after questioning, Thakur, also joint secretary in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), told reporters that he provided all the information sought by the vigilance bureau.