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Plot allotment case: Bathinda court extends arrest warrant against Manpreet Badal
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday deferred hearing on the anticipatory bail plea from former finance minister Manpreet Badal for Monday in the Bathinda plot allotment case.
A district court on Friday extended the arrest warrant against former finance minister and Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Manpreet Badal in the Bathinda plot allot case.
Vigilance bureau’s deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Kulwant Singh said the police pleaded chief judicial magistrate (CJM) Daljit Kaur to grant more time to nab five-time MLA Manpreet.
“The court extended the warrant till October 26 on Friday. Our teams are conducting raids to execute arrest warrants,” said the DSP.
On September 26, the CJM had taken cognisance of charges, including 420 (cheating), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant) 467 (forging a document that pretends to be a valuable security) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy), against Manpreet while he was a minister and issued a warrant and directed the police to arrest him and produce before the court.
Allegations against the former finance minister are that he colluded with Bathinda Development Authority (BDA) officials and his close aides to buy two residential plots by alleged abuse of his then ministerial position and forgery.
Investigators have arrested three persons, who are stated to be close aides of the ex-minister in the same case.
However, the VB is unable to arrest him as the whereabouts of Manpreet are not known.
HC defers hearing on Manpreet Badal’s plea
Chandigarh
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday deferred hearing on the anticipatory bail plea from former finance minister Manpreet Badal for Monday in the Bathinda plot allotment case.
The plea was taken up by the bench of justice Vikas Bahl, however, upon request for deferring the hearing, it was postponed for Monday. Senior advocate RS Cheema represented him in the court. On October 4, the Bathinda court dismissed his pre-arrest bail plea.
The whereabouts of Manpreet are not known. Punjab Police unsuccessfully conducted raids at different places, including Shimla and Rajasthan. However, the plea says he had appeared before the VB when summoned to join the probe and was ready to do so but the VB “unfairly insisted on custodial investigation”.
The plea terms VB investigation motivated by a political vendetta “to please Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann” and claims that efforts of his arrest were aimed at maligning his reputation.
