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Punjab vigilance summons ex-Congress minister Vijay Inder Singla in DA case
Singla, who is the seventh former minister under the VB scanner for disproportionate assets, has been summoned to the bureau’s Sangrur office on Thursday
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Tuesday summoned former minister and Congress MLA Vijay Inder Singla for allegedly having assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Singla, who is the seventh former minister under the VB scanner for having disproportionate assets, has been summoned to the bureau’s Sangrur office on Friday.
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A VB official said that an inquiry pertaining to disproportionate assets was started against him three months ago and this is the first time when he has been asked to appear for questioning.
“A few months ago, the vigilance had asked the local administration to dig revenue records of Sangrur district to find out if any fishy records were registered in the name of the former education minister and his family members. However, nothing was found,” the official said.
Sangrur vigilance DSP Parmindar Singh declined to share details of the case.
Singla was elected member of Parliament from Sangrur constituency in 2009 and lost to Bhagwant Mann in 2014. However, he won the assembly elections from Sangrur in 2017 and become a cabinet minister in the Capt Amarinder Singh-led Congress government. Among the major portfolios he held were education and public works department.
In September, Singla’s aides were summoned by the VB in another inquiry pertaining to allegations of manipulation in allotment of Punjab PWD tenders during the Congress rule. However, there has been no headway in that case.
Last month, Brahm Mohindra, who was second only to Capt Amarinder, was summoned in a DA case. The VB has arrested Sadhu Singh Dharamsot in a similar case, while former ministers Sham Sunder Arora, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Gurpreet Singh Kangar, Bharat Bhushan Ashu and at least six other Congress leaders are under VB scrutiny for amassing illegal properties.
