Former Punjab minister held on graft charges
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau personnel on Monday arrested former Punjab food and supply minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu in connection with irregularities related to allotment of transportation tenders
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau personnel on Monday arrested former Punjab food and supply minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu in connection with a scam related to allotment of transportation tenders on fake registration number of vehicles during his tenure with the previous government, in Ludhiana. The vigilance officials suspect it to be a ₹ 2,000 crore scam.
The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) working president’s arrest came hours after the Congress-led by PPCC president Raja Warring and Ashu staged a protest outside the vigilance headquarters in Mohali earlier in day the during which they challenged the officials and the Aam Aadmi Party government to arrest Ashu and any other person accused in the scam.
In the video of his arrest that went viral on social media, Ashu is seen calmly sitting on a chair and getting his hair done at a salon even as Ludhiana MP from Congress Ravneet Singh Bittu is seen arguing with the cops as to “how they can pick a minister without summons.” Bittu is also seen accusing the sleuths “of chasing them from Chandigarh all the way to Ludhiana. “
“The summons are arriving,” says the official. After heated arguments between the MP and the vigilance personnel, Ashu and Bittu agreed to sit in their own vehicle to accompany the officials to the local vigilance office.
Senior Punjab Vigilance Bureau officials have confirmed Ashu’s arrest. He has been booked in the FIR registered under Sections 420, 409, 467, 468, 471, 120 B of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 7, 8, 12, 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
