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VB ‘clean chit’ to Badal aide Kolianwali in local bodies’ recruitment scam case
The vigilance bureau has not found any link of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal’s controversial aide and Shiromani Akali Dal’s Muktsar unit president Dayal
The vigilance bureau has not found any link of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal’s controversial aide and Shiromani Akali Dal’s Muktsar unit president Dayal Singh Kolianwali with the recruitment scam in the local bodies department and Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA).
Kolianwali’s name cropped up in the scam that rocked the then government last year after VB arrested his associate and Malout Akali councillor Sham Lal Gupta alias Daddi.
Gupta is one of the accused in the case.
‘No link of high-profile politicians’
“We found no involvement of high-profile political leaders in the scam. Three kingpins the VB arrested on Wednesday were thoroughly quizzed. Two persons, who assisted the kingpins, were on our radar. They will be arrested soon,” said VB director G Nageswara Rao.
In the run-up to the 2017 assembly elections, Kolianwali became the target of the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as they gunned for him.
Capt targeted him in rally last year
Addressing a gathering in Lambi on June 19 last year, Capt Amarinder Singh had said, "I have come to know that some persons close to the Badal family, especially Kolianwali, are charging ₹15 lakh for a clerical job and ₹50 lakh for an engineering job in PUDA. This will not be allowed. The VB is targeting only those who got jobs by paying money but not the ones behind the scam.”
VB officials admit that Kolianwali tried to shield Daddi by using his political clout.
The masterminds of the scam are UP residents Shiv Bahadur Singh, Sailesh Kumar and Sanjay Shrivastva, alias Guruji. They are involved in paper leaks in UP and Telangana also,” said a VB official.
