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Capt’s ex-adviser Chahal ‘spent’ 305 per cent more than his income, booked
During probe, the VB found that the income of Chahal and his family members from March 2017 to September 2021 was ₹7.85 cr against the expenditure of ₹31.79 cr
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Thursday booked Bharat Inder Singh Chahal, the former adviser to ex-chief minister Amarinder Singh, in a disproportionate assets case, said officials.
During investigation, the vigilance bureau found that the income of Chahal and his family members from March 2017 to September 2021 was ₹7.85 crore against the expenditure of ₹31.79 crore — almost 305% more than his known sources of income.
A case has been registered under Sections 13 (1) B and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, said an official spokesman of the vigilance bureau.
Pertinently, during Captain Amarinder regime, BIS chahal was indirectly controlling the VB, which now has booked him.
Chahal had made properties in his family members’ names and his own, said the bureau official.
Among properties he allegedly got through illicit money were Dashmesh Luxury Wedding Resort (Alcazar) situated on Sirhind Road in Patiala, a five-storey commercial building built over 2,595 yards on the Mini Secretariat Road in Patiala, and 72 kanal 14 marla land at Kalyan village near a toll plaza on Nabha Road, said the spokesperson. Apart from this, Chahal is also alleged to have bought land in Malaheri and Harbanspura villages in Fatehgarh Sahib, the spokesperson added.
Chahal, now under questioning by the bureau, had earlier failed to appear before the vigilance bureau despite being summoned several times. He was Amarinder’s adviser from 2017 till September 2021 and also his media adviser from 2002 to 2007.
“A probe has just begun and the vigilance has to verify many more properties purchased under different names, including those of his family members and relatives,” he said.
Chahal had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after Captain Amarinder Singh was unceremoniously ousted as the chief minister in 2021 by the Congress high command. Later, Captain also snapped his ties with the Congress and switched to the BJP. Chahal was a public relation officer in 1990s, and later come close to Amarinder, who made him a media adviser in 2002.
This is the second time that the VB has booked Chahal. Earlier, an FIR was registered against him in 2007 during the SAD-BJP regime. However, he was acquitted in 2016 as all 77 witnesses, including government officials, turned hostile in court, failing the case of the VB. Later, his acquittal became a political issue as the Opposition charged that Captain and Badals had a “secret pact”.
