A Punjab Vigilance Bureau team which has been looking for former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, who was booked in connection with alleged misuse of his political position and forgery in a plot allotment case was allegedly not allowed to carry out a search at a house in Chandigarh on Thursday, sources said.
Bureau officials said the residence belonged to a relative of Badal, who joined the BJP in January this year after quitting the Congress.
An advocate, claiming to represent the owner of the house, asked the team to bring a search warrant before carrying out the operation. The advocate refused to share the name of the house.
The vigilance team, which was accompanying the Chandigarh policemen, was carrying only an arrest warrant against Badal which was issued by a Bathinda court a few days back, they said.
The vigilance bureau has been conducting raids at various locations but Badal continues to remain at large. The raids had been conducted at locations in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.
On Wednesday, a court in Punjab’s Bathinda rejected Badal bail plea. He was booked in connection with alleged irregularities in the purchase of a property in Bathinda.
The Punjab vigilance bureau had booked Badal and five others in connection with the case. An arrest warrant had been issued by the court in Bathinda against Badal last month. Earlier, a lookout circular (LOC) was issued against the former minister.
{{/usCountry}}The Punjab vigilance bureau had booked Badal and five others in connection with the case. An arrest warrant had been issued by the court in Bathinda against Badal last month. Earlier, a lookout circular (LOC) was issued against the former minister.
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