- In a bid to nab former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, who has been accused of alleged irregularities in the purchase of a property case.
- Punjab’s vigilance department filed a case against Manpreet Singh Badal in connection with alleged irregularities in the purchase of a property in Bathinda.
- An FIR under sections of the law relating to cheating, forgery, and criminal conspiracy, and 13(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act punishment for a public servant who commits criminal misconduct, in addition to the Information Technology Act, was registered against him.
- Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann took a swipe at Mr Badal, saying those who used to boast about honesty are now running from pillar to post to save their skin.
- Mr. Badal had joined the BJP after quitting the Congress in January this year.
In a bid to nab former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, who has been accused of alleged irregularities in the purchase of a property case, the vigilance department has launched multiple raids across various states. Locations in Himachal, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand, and Rajasthan are being raided to locate Manpreet Singh Badal who is accused of abusing his position to convert two commercial plots into a residential plot for himself.
An arrest warrant has also been issued against the former Punjab Finance Minister who has been accused of abusing his position to convert two commercial plots into a residential plot for himself. Manpreet Singh Badal had joined the BJP after quitting the Congress in January.
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau had registered a case against Badal and five others in connection in the matter. Three of them had been arrested. On Monday, a lookout circular (LOC) was also issued against the former minister.
During the probe, it was found that Badal abused his position to purchase two plots measuring 1,560 square yards in Model Town phase-1 Bathinda, thereby causing a financial loss of lakhs of rupees to the state exchequer, according to the vigilance bureau. It was found that Badal allegedly colluded with the officials of the BDA and misled the general public during the bidding of plots in the year 2021. Fake maps were uploaded to prevent public participation in the bidding process, the bureau alleged.
Former Bathinda Development Authority (BDA) chief administrator Bikramjit Shergill, the other four booked in the case have been identified as Rajiv Kumar, Amandeep Singh, Vikas Arora, and Pankaj in connection with alleged irregularities in the purchase of a property in Bathinda. The vigilance bureau had launched an investigation into the matter based on former MLA Sarup Chand Singla’s 2021 complaint alleging irregularities in the purchase of the property at a prime location in Bathinda.
Apart from this, plot numbers 725-C (560 square yards) and 726 (1,000 square yards) in the map were also shown as commercial instead of residential and the numbers of plots were not shown in the map on the online e-auction portal, it was alleged.
(With inputs from agencies)
