Vigilance Bureau questions former Punjab minister Sunder Sham Arora in disproportionate assets case
Former Congress minister in Punjab, Sunder Sham Arora, who had joined BJP in June this year, was on Wednesday questioned by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau in a disproportionate assets (DA) case against him.
Arora, who was questioned for over two hours at Punjab Vigilance Bureau headquarters in Mohali, said he was asked about his property details and the affidavits he had filed while contesting three elections. Arora said all property details were mentioned in the affidavits and added that he would cooperate with the investigating agency and submit whatever is required.
Asked if he was questioned due to “vendetta”, Arora said, “No comments.” When asked if he was questioned in connection with the alleged multi-crore scam involving auction of prime land of JCT Electronics in Mohali, Arora maintained that he was only questioned about his property details and no question in that regard was posed to him.
A Vigilance Bureau official said Arora would have to submit more documents and the questioning on Wednesday was to “verify” if he had assets “disproportionate to his known sources of income”, which the Vigilance Bureau was investigating.
Meanwhile, the Vigilance Bureau is also likely to begin its probe into the alleged involvement of senior Congress leader and former Vidhan Sabha Speaker Rana K P Singh after Mining and Geology Minister Harjot Bains ordered inquiries by the mining department and the Vigilance Bureau.
The former ministers facing Vigilance Bureau cases:
Sharanjit Dhillon and Janmeja Singh Sekhon: The Vigilance Bureau recently issued look-out circulars (LOCs) against former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) ministers Sharanjit Singh Dhillon and Janmeja Singh Sekhon in the irrigation scam after obtaining sanction to investigate their roles. The LoCs have also been issued against three bureaucrats, retired IPS officers Sarvesh Kaushal, KBS Sidhu and Kahan Singh Pannu. A senior Vigilance Bureau functionary said that the circulars had to be issued so that they do not leave the country, pending investigation, even as it suspects that one of the three former bureaucrats has already gone abroad. On Wednesday, as per a Vigilance Bureau official, the investigating agency questioned contractor Gurinder Singh, who is alleged to have given bribes to get works allotted to him worth around Rs 1,200 crore during SAD-BJP rule and who was booked in a case registered during Congress regime in August 2017.
Bharat Bhushan Ashu: Former food, civil supplies and consumer affairs minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu faces a corruption case registered by the Vigilance Bureau for alleged irregularities in awarding contracts for transporting foodgrain on fake vehicle registration numbers during his tenure. A Congress leader from Ludhiana, and considered close to Rahul Gandhi, Ashu is in Patiala Central Jail. He was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau from Ludhiana about a month ago. A local court in Ludhiana rejected his bail plea, following which he moved Punjab and Haryana High Court where his bail plea is pending.
Sadhu Singh Dharamsot: Senior Congress leader and former forest minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau for “organised corruption pertaining to the issuance of permits for cutting of trees, transfer of officials, purchases, and issuance of no objection certificates”. He was granted bail by Punjab and Haryana High court earlier this month and came out of jail on September 7.
Sangat Singh Gilzian: The successor of Sadhu Singh Dharamsot as forest minister, Sangat Singh Gilzian was also booked in the same case in which Dharamsot was booked. Gilzian was not arrested and subsequently, as he approached Punjab and Haryana High Court moving an anticipatory bail plea, his arrest was stayed.
