Probe report into Bhagatupura village land scam submitted to CM Mann

Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that the panchayat department had constituted a three-member probe team on May 20 into the alleged land scam in Bhagatupura village of Amritsar

Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Thursday submitted a report of the investigation into the alleged land scam in Bhagatupura village of Amritsar to chief minister Bhagwant Mann.

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Giving details, Dhaliwal said that the panchayat department had constituted a three-member investigation team on May 20.

The investigation has been completed by the probe team and its report has been submitted to the chief minister for further action, he said in a statement.

The cabinet minister said that the land was sold to Alpha International City by the panchayat of Bhagatupura village in Amritsar. Strict action would be taken against those found at fault, he added.

Earlier, Dhaliwal had, in a press conference in Amritsar on June 11, accused his predecessor Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa of “unethically” approving the panchayat land in Bhagatupura at a very low price “in collusion with some builders”, even when the election code of conduct was in force in the state.

He had also claimed that this led to a loss of ₹28 crore to the state exchequer. Bajwa had strongly refuted the AAP minister’s allegations, terming them as “lies”.