1991-batch IAS officer Ashok Khemka (File)Senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka has alleged that 2004-batch IAS officer Sanjeev Verma, as City Magistrate of Kaithal, was allegedly “caught red-handed while robbing the material from a godown at gunpoint with the help of security guards” in 1993. Khemka has also termed as fraudulent Verma’s appointment into the Haryana Civil Services (Executive branch) in 1992. Verma denied the allegations as baseless saying that he was ready for a CBI probe.
“What can I say except that all the allegations are baseless. I would request the state government to get the allegations investigated by CBI or any other top investigating agency. If I am not party to any case, how can I be held responsible for anything? If there was any government stock looted, the case should have been registered against me 30 years ago. I was posted in Kaithal as City Magistrate in 1994 and not in 1992 and 1993. I reiterate that whatever Ashok Khemka says, whatever number of allegations he levels against me, the state government can and should get all those investigated by the CBI or any other agency,” Verma told The Indian Express.
He was reacting, among others, to a letter that Khemka has written to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, annexing over three dozen pages citing how Verma’s basis of appointment “on compassionate” grounds into the HCS (Executive) in 1992 was “prima-facie fraudulent and constitutes abuse of public office”.
In the letter, Khemka has also sought registration of a criminal case and disciplinary action against Verma for the alleged robbery incident of February 3, 1993; an independent inquiry into his compassionate appointment to the HCS (Executive) in 1992 and rescind the same if found fraudulent; and reconsidering appropriateness of continuing Verma as the Divisional Commissioner (Karnal), Khattar’s home constituency, because Divisional Commissioner is also the Chief Vigilance Officer of the division.
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Citing a judgment dated April 20, 2011 passed by the Additional District Judge, Chandigarh in a civil appeal of 2006 “titled Kumar Brothers v M/s National Fertilizers Limited”, Khemka reproduced a relevant paragraph that reads: “Shri Sanjeev Verma, the then City Magistrate at Kaithal was caught red handed while robbing the material from the godown at gun point with the help of security guards and the same were loaded into truck (HNZ-7788) and tractor trolley (HR-07-0302) which were carrying 450 bags of urea”. Khemka added that Verma was caught in a surprise raid carried out by officers of NFL on February 3, 1993 at 8.30 pm.
M/s Kumar Brothers was a buffer stockist of NFL at Yamuna Nagar between October 1, 1989 and February 9, 1993. Khemka, in his letter, has mentioned that Verma was the sole owner of M/s Kumar Brothers and was earning a fixed rental income of Rs 30,000 per month besides handling and standardization charges from the NFL contract.
“On April 14, 1992, Verma applied for transfer of ownership of his firm in favour of his eldest brother, Babu Ram that was allowed vide NFL’s letter dated April 23, 1992. Evidence shows the transfer of ownership of M/s Kumar Brothers was a mere paper transfer with dishonest intention so that the NFL contract did not come in way of Verma for compassionate appointment to the HCS (Executive) after the murder of his second brother, Mr ML Verma. Later, NFL terminated the contract prematurely w.e.f. February 9, 1993 owing to poor storage and theft of urea stocks. At the time of de-hiring of the godowns, 198.49 MT kisan urea stocks were found short”, Khemka wrote in his letter.
“The fact that Verma was a buffer stockist of NFL earning huge business income was deliberately concealed from the state government at the time of his compassionate appointment to HCS (Executive) in 1992. A married brother with independent source of income was not entitled for appointment under the extant compassionate appointment of state government. Even if presumed that Verma was eligible under the policy, he qualified for a Class III job at best. The Cabinet is not above the Constitution and can not trample upon the fundamental rights of an ordinary citizen to public employment”, Khemka wrote.
Khemka and Verma are already locked in a legal tussle having got FIRs registered against each other in April. Verma was earlier this week shunted out as managing director of Haryana State Warehousing Corporation following a request by Khemka. Verma had earlier alleged irregularities in the recruitment of two officials in HSWC in 2010 when Khemka was the corporation’s MD.
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