Plot allotment case: VB quizzes Manpreet Badal for 4 hours
Former finance minister and BJP leader Manpreet Singh Badal appeared before the vigilance bureau in Bathinda for questioning in a corruption case.
Former finance minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manpreet Singh Badal appeared before the vigilance bureau (VB) in Bathinda on Monday morning where he was questioned for nearly four hours.
Manpreet was summoned by the anti-corruption wing of the state police to join investigation in an FIR lodged against him and five others in the purchase of two plots measuring 1,560 square yards in the upscale Model Town area of the city.
VB’s deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Kulwant Singh said the former state minister was asked to share details pertaining to the no-objection certificate (NOC) from the local body for construction at the land in question and departmental permission to convert two plots to build one residence.
The DSP said Punjab Civil Services (PCS) officer Bikramjit Singh Shergill has been summoned for questioning on Wednesday.
“On the basis of the investigation, wine contractor Jaswinder Singh Jugnu and charted accountant Sanjeev Kumar have also been booked in the case. Accused Rajiv Kumar, Amandeep Singh, and Vikas Arora, already arrested, had used Jugnu’s office for online bidding of the Bathinda Development Authority (BDA) plots. A computer used in bidding has gone missing and Jugnu and Sanjeev have also been named accused in the case,” added the DSP.
After his questioning by VB, Manpreet charged the Punjab government with harassment.
“I strongly favour accountability of public figures. But instead of fair prosecution, the state authorities are indulged in persecution,” he told reporters.
The VB case was registered on a complaint filed by Saroop Chand Singla, a former MLA of Bathinda, against Manpreet and others.
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