Arrest warrant, lookout circular against former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Badal
The arrest warrant was issued by the court of additional chief judicial magistrate in Bathinda.
3 min read
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. (File Photo) A court in Bathinda Tuesday issued an arrest warrant against former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, hours after a lookout circular was issued against the BJP leader who along with five others has been booked by the Vigilance Bureau in connection with alleged irregularities in the purchase of two plots.
Three of the six accused have been arrested.
The arrest warrant was issued by the court of additional chief judicial magistrate in Bathinda. Earlier, lookout circular (LOC) was issued against the former minister after teams of the Vigilance Bureau conducted raids at his residence in his native Badal village Monday in Sri Muktsar Sahib to arrest him.
Manpreet’s counsel Sukhdeep Singh said a pre-arrest bail application that he had moved has been withdrawn from the court in Bathinda and a fresh bail application will be filed in the matter. He said that the vigilance bureau informed the court that the FIR has been lodged in this case.
The counsel said when the pre-arrest bail was moved no FIR was registered against Manpreet.
Besides Manpreet, former Bathinda Development Authority (BDA) chief administrator Bikramjit Shergill, Rajiv Kumar, Amandeep Singh, Vikas Arora and Pankaj have been booked in the matter.
Rajiv Kumar, Amandeep Singh and Vikas Arora have already been arrested.
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.
BJP leader Singla, who joined the BJP after quitting the Congress in January, had alleged that Manpreet, as a minister in the previous Congress dispensation, had abused his position to convert two commercial plots into a residential plot for himself.
A case was registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code including sections 420 (cheating) and 468 (forgery), and also under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
During the probe, it was found that Manpreet 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 Manpreet 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.
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