Himachal News- HPCA official’s anticipatory bail plea now be heard on Monday

Dharamsala, September 7, 2013: HPCA’s three officials’ application for anticipatory bail in a Dharamsala court has been shifted to Monday from Saturday for hearing, as the trio remained absent from Saturday's hearing.
Plea filed by three Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) officials, was in a case of cheating registered against the HPCA by state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau on August 1.  
Special court justice RK Sharma directed the three officials to remain present in the court during the next hearing on Monday. The three officials are HPCA senior vice-president RS Kapoor of Kullu, honorary secretary Vishal Marwah of Shimla and executive member RP Singh of Kullu. Earlier, on Court’s order in the last month’s hearing, the vigilance and anti-corruption bureau had recorded the statement of the three on August 22.
Vigilance and anti-corruption bureau Himachal earlier had registered a case against the HPCA for alleged irregularities in use of land leased out to it for construction of Criketers residences in Dharamsala by the previous BJP government lead by the then CM Prem Kumar Dhumal, who is also the father of HPCA president Anuraag Thakur. Earlier, vigilance team probing allotment of land to the state cricket body during the previous BJP regime has found that HPCA registered a company under the name of Himalayan Players Cricket Association with the Registrar of Companies at Kanpur by giving a false address. Vigilance Bureau summoned HPCA above stated 3 office-bearers for questioning
Sources in the Bureau said that  Himalayan Players Cricket Association was registered in 1999 as a society in Himachal while in 2005 it was enlisted as a company in Kanpur with the same office-bearers. "Those named as office-bearers of the company in Kanpur would now be called for questioning," said one official.

According to investigating officials it was surprising that for six years (2005-2011) the company remained functional from Kanpur, but not even a single proof of address like rent receipt, and electricity or water bill could be provided to prove that it actually functioned from the address. In 2011 an application was submitted by HPCA before the registrar of companies under the Union ministry of corporate affairs requesting to move the company from Kanpur to Himachal Pradesh by giving the address of Dharamsala cricket stadium.
HPCA president Anurag Thakur had recently claimed that they were forced to convert the association into a company as in 2003 the then Congress government in the state, headed by Virbhadra Singh, had brought a sports bill to control sports associations.
After coming to power, the present Congress government had given its nod for registration of a case. It has been alleged in the FIR registered in Dharamsala that HPCA first registered itself as a company and later got itself registered under the Society Act and got land on lease from the government for a token amount of Re 1.