E-Paper
Conmen posing as Kishor aides dupe Cong MLAs promising tickets, 2 held
Defrauded leaders are from Ludhiana, Mansa, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Amritsar and other districts of Punjab
Members of a gang posing as aides of Prashant Kishor, principal adviser to Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, allegedly duped Congress MLAs and other political leaders in Punjab of lakhs of rupees by promising them tickets of the ruling party in the upcoming Punjab assembly elections.
Two of the accused were arrested from a hotel near Jalandhar, police said.
A case under sections 420, 379, 473 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Dehlon police station in Ludhiana against the accused identified as Ranchit Kumar, alias Raja, Gaurav Sharma and Rakesh Paseen, all residents of Amritsar. The police have also recovered a Mahindra Scorpio with a fake number plate (PB02 ZK 3540). The police suspect the vehicle is stolen.
The duped leaders and MLAs are from Ludhiana, Mansa, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Amritsar and other districts of Punjab. The case came to the fore when some MLAs reported the matter to the CM who ordered Ludhiana police commissioner Rakesh Agrawal to nab the accused.
A Congress leader, seeking anonymity, said the accused sought money from and assured him of victory in the elections.
Police commissioner Agrawal said investigation is on and they are likely to get more leads in the case.
Amarinder had appointed Kishor as his principal advisor ahead of the assembly elections in Punjab.
