The election commission’s special observer for the Punjab Lok Sabha polls on Thursday asked the state’s chief electoral officer (CEO) to seek a report from the chief secretary on the vigilance bureau first information report (FIR) registered against managing editor of Ajit Group of Newspapers Barjinder Singh Hamdard in connection with alleged misappropriation of funds in the construction of ₹315-crore Jang-e-Azadi Memorial at Kartarpur in Jalandhar.
The chief secretary has been told to submit a factual report to the commission. The VB, on its part, sent a notice to Hamdard for his arrest. The move comes following the Punjab and Haryana high court directions to the VB to serve a seven-day notice prior to any punitive action against Hamdard.
A case under Sections 420, 406, 409, 465, 467, 468, 471, 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 13(1)A read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered on Wednesday against Hamdard, IAS officer Viney Bublani and 24 others.
The VB also arrested 15 people — Ludhiana-based builder Deepak Singal and 14 PWD officials —in the case. Officials said one more accused, Paramjit Singh, retired executive engineer, public works department (B&R) branch-2, Jalandhar, surrendered before the VB. He will be produced in a local court on Friday, said an official privy to the matter.
He said raids are on to arrest the absconding accused, including Vinay Bublani.
{{/usCountry}}He said raids are on to arrest the absconding accused, including Vinay Bublani.
{{/usCountry}}A senior lawyer who is representing Hamdard said the FIR does not mention about any exchange of money. “We have decided to move a court to seek a probe by the CBI or any other central agency as we demanded in our previous petition,” he said.
The VB probe in the case revealed that funds released by the Punjab government for the construction of the Jang-e-Azadi Memorial were misappropriated causing a loss of crores of rupees to the state exchequer.