Khemka alleges he is being victimised

With Haryana Government set to slap a second charge sheet against him, whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who shot into limelight for questioning controversial Robert Vadra-DLF land deals, has alleged that he was being victimised and publicly humiliated without being heard for exposing "open public loot".

In an 11-page letter to the Chief Secretary P K Chaudhery, he attacked Chief Minister's Principal Secretary S S Dhillon and alleged that he along with senior officers had "ganged up" against him and he was facing action for failing to toe the line of the political masters.

Dhillon was not available for comment despite repeated attempts to reach him while sources in the Haryana Government maintained they were yet to receive the letter from Khemka.

"My biggest 'crime', of course, was my cancellation of the mutation by Shri Robert Vadra’s Sky Light Hospitality to DLF Universal on 15th October, 2012," said Khemka, who had a year back sparked a controversy by cancelling the mutation of the land deal between Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Vadra and real estate major DLF in Gurgaon.

The Haryana Government is in the process of serving the IAS officer a second chargesheet for alleged irregularities in wheat seeds sale during his tenure in Haryana Seed Development Corporation as its Managing Director from October 15, 2012 to April 4 this year.

"If anything adverse was held against me for the unsold seed stocks, the minimum expected was to at least afford me an opportunity to explain before publicly humiliating me with the announcement of a second charge sheet in the media," Khemka, who has been transferred over 40 times during his career so far, said in his letter yesterday.

Meanwhile, Khemka said that he had not received any charge sheet so far.

Three weeks back, the Haryana government had decided to charge sheet Khemka for alleged administrative misconduct in cancelling the mutation of the land deal between Vadra and DLF in Gurgaon.

The 1991-batch IAS officer has been held liable for alleged administrative misconduct for overstepping jurisdiction in passing orders to cancel the mutation of 3.5 acre land in Gurgaon's Shikohpur village. The land was sold by Vadra to DLF.

Khemka claimed that the motive of charge sheeting him without an opportunity of hearing and announcing the same in the media "is to publicly humiliate me for conscientiously doing my duty and to instill a sense of fear in others as to what would happen in the event the desire of the political masters is not fulfilled."

He alleged that the favours dispensed to colonizers in the Town & Country Planning and Urban Estates Departments by way of granting change in land use permissions, colony licenses, tweaking town development plans, acquisition and release of land is too well known and need not be further elaborated here.

"My position is like the batsman in a cricket match who is asked to bat in a match where the umpire is totally biased and he knows that the umpire will raise the dreaded finger on any frivolous appeal by the fielding team. The umpire in this matter is not neutral, but is the mentor of the fielding team continuously goading the players of the opposing team to appeal so that he can raise his dreaded finger," he wrote.

Khemka said he was facing action "for daring to speak out in the course of my official duty against the open public loot and conflict of interest by public servants in the release of land, change in land use permissions, grant and transfer of colony licenses...."