E-Paper
VB questions former Punjab finance minister for 2 hours in plot allotment case
Officials privy to the development said the VB sleuths questioned former Punjab finance minister and BJP leader Manpreet Badal for over two hours and he also submitted documents related to the case to the agency
Former Punjab finance minister and BJP leader Manpreet Badal appeared before the vigilance bureau (VB) on Tuesday for the first time since the registration of a FIR against him and five others, including PCS officer Bikramjit Singh Shergill, in a plot allotment case on September 24.
Officials privy to the development said the VB sleuths questioned Manpreet for over two hours and he also submitted documents related to the case to the agency.
After coming out of the VB’s Bathinda zone office, Manpreet demanded the case to be probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
VB investigators say Manpreet submitted some documents and the questioning period was kept short as he produced a medical certificate saying that he is unfit for sitting for long hours.
Manpreet was earlier scheduled to appear before VB on October 23, but his counsel said that he was suffering from backache after which the former minister was asked to join the probe on October 31.
“The VB is a tool in the hands of the Punjab government and this agency cannot be trusted for a fair probe. I welcome an investigation by the CBI for fair probe,” said the ex-minister.
VB’s deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Kulwant Singh said owing to the poor health condition of Manpreet, it was decided to question him again on the next date.
“He submitted a few papers required by the VB and several questions were asked. Our team has asked for more documents and more details of the case which is under investigation. Senior VB officials will soon decide the next date of Manpreet’s questioning,” said the DSP.
The VB had launched an investigation into the matter based on the BJP’s Bathinda district president and former MLA Sarup Chand Singla’s 2021 complaint alleging irregularities in the purchase of the property at a prime location in Bathinda.
On October 4, a Bathinda district court had dismissed Manpreet’s pre-arrest bail plea.
After he moved the Punjab and Haryana high court, the court granted him interim bail on October 16.
