Grain transport tenders: Vigilance nabs Punjab ex-minister Ashu, hours after he offered arrest

SSP, Vigilance (Ludhiana range) Ravinder Pal Singh Sandhu said that Ashu “has been arrested after thorough probe and verification of allegations”. The SSP said the former minister’s name has been added to the FIR in which Ashu’s personal assistant (PA) Meenu Pankaj Malhotra and Rakesh Singla, the deputy director of the food and civil supplies department had already been booked. Both Malhotra and Singla are absconding.

Security deployed outside Vigilance Bureau Ludhiana office. (Photo by Gurmeet Singh)

Earlier, the Vigilance Bureau on August 16 had registered a case against the owner/partners of Gurdas Ram & Company, unnamed officers/officials of the state food and civil supplies department, and employees of concerned procurement agencies for allegedly committing irregularities in accepting labour, cartage and transportation tenders for grain markets in Ludhiana district.

Vigilance sleuths on August 16 arrested a contractor Telu Ram of Udhanwal village in SBS Nagar. It also booked two other contractors — Jagroop Singh and Sandeep Bhatia.

The FIR was registered under sections 420 (cheating), 409 (criminal breach of trust), 467 (forgery of valuable security, etc), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 120B (party to a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence) of the IPC and sections 7 (), 8, 12 and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act at the vigilance bureau police station in Ludhiana.

The VB investigation found that at the time of submitting tenders for 2020-21 with regard to labour, cartage and transportation works in Ludhiana, the lists of vehicles submitted by the contractors contained registration numbers of scooters, motorcycles, and cars, which were not verified by concerned officials of the tender committee “due to criminal connivance with each other”.

Congress workers protesting outside vigilance office, Ludhiana. (Express photo by Gurmeet Singh)

Further, in gate passes issued pertaining to loading and unloading of food grains, the registration numbers of vehicles used for the carriage have been found to be of scooters, motorcycles, and cars. The details of the said vehicles as well as the quantity of the commodity mentioned in the gate passes prima facie appear to be a case of fake reporting and embezzlement of the foodgrains. On the basis of these passes, the department officials made payments to Telu Ram, Jagroop Singh and Sandeep Bhatia without verifying the same, a vigilance official said.

In an official statement Monday, the Vigilance Bureau said that Telu Ram told during interrogation that he met Ashu through Meeny Malhotra for getting tenders for the season 2020-21. Malhotra further told him to meet Singla who was the chairman of departmental chief vigilance committee for tenders and was acting on the directions of former minister, the statement read.

Telu Ram informed the Vigilance sleuths that when he met Singla, the latter demanded Rs 30 lakh on behalf of Ashu. He claimed to have given Rs 20 lakh to Singla and Rs 6 lakh to Malhotra as bribe in installments.

The Vigilance statement added that “on the basis of revelations as well as the material evidence”, Ashu’s name has been added in the case.

Vigilance officials talking to Mamta Ashu, wife of ex-minister. (Photo by Gurmeet Singh)

“During investigation it has come out that Telu Ram has purchased about 20 acres land and accused Meenu Malhotra, who is at large, has also made number of properties, and record is being collected in this regard. The record with regard to posting of Singla is also being collected besides properties made by him would be probed,” read the Vigilance statement.

On the modus operandi of the alleged scam, a Vigilance spokesperson said that the tenders were invited cluster wise in which a group of mandis and work of all procurement agencies was allotted. The name of the leading mandi in particular area was used as cluster name. In Ludhiana, Telu Ram was having four clusters — Jodhan, Mullanpur, Raikot and Payal — which comprised 34 grain markets. He was also having clusters in Ferozpur (Talwandi Bhai) and Ropar districts.

“During investigation, it has come to light that Telu Ram earned profit of at least Rs 25 crore from the said tenders after giving bribe of 26 lakh,” said the Vigilance spokesperson.

A senior Vigilance officer, part of the investigation, said, “It has come to light that bribe money used to reach Ashu through Malhotra. Things will be clear after Malhotra’s arrest”.

Earlier, a high drama ensued when a team of Vigilance sleuths reached the salon in Ludhiana to arrest Ashu. Congress MP from Ludhiana Ravneet Singh Bittu also reached there and had a heated argument with the Vigilance team.

“Why are you people behaving like cowards and coming to arrest him in a salon where he came for a haircut? He was at the Vigilance office but wasn’t arrested, and now hours later, you people have reached here like cowards to take him,” asked Bittu.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Ashu’s wife Mamta Ashu, a local councillor, said, “He went to Vigilance office in Mohali, offering his arrest, so why was he not arrested then? They picked him from salon. A roaring lion has been arrested by a pack of jackals,” said Mamta, asking “what kind of enquiry was it that got completed within hours after he returned from Vigilance office?”

Bittu told The Indian Express that the AAP government only wanted to create a drama of arresting a former minister, which “he did not let happen.”

“They came like cowards, without showing any ID cards and without wearing uniforms. I said if they were actually from vigilance, they should accompany us to the vigilance office in our vehicle. AAP is always the best in creating dramas…they wanted to have photographs of a former minister being arrested for political mileage in the Himachal Pradesh elections. We did not let the drama ensue. I took Ashu to the Vigilance office in my vehicle. Is it the work of a cabinet minister to check the number plates of vehicles? The entire case is farce,” said Bittu.

SSP, Vigilance, Ravinder Pal Singh Sandhu, however, denied Bittu’s allegations. “All our team members were carrying ID cards. A DSP-led team arrested Ashu from a salon,” the SSP said.

Late in the night, SSP Sandhu filed a complaint against Bittu with Ludhiana police commissioner for “obstructing vigilance sleuths from performing public duty” and creating hindrances when they went to arrest Ashu. The complaint further says that Bittu used derogatory language against Vigilance team and called them “chor” (thieves).

Meanwhile, Vigilance is carrying out raids to arrest Malhotra while Singla has reportedly fled abroad.

On Sunday, Food and civil supplies minister Lal Singh Kataruchak had announced that Singla has been dismissed from the department for hiding his Canada PR and fleeing abroad without taking ex-India leave.

It was alleged that despite multiple enquiries pending against him for graft and irregularities, Ashu had promoted Singla as chief of vigilance office in the department.

Ashu was the minister for food and civil supplies in the cabinets of Congress governments led by Captain Amarinder Singh and Charanjit Singh Channi. He had won from Ludhiana West seat in 2012 and 2017, but faced defeat in the February 2022 Assembly polls. In June, Ashu had moved the high court seeking directions “not to arrest him in a false case”. He is yet to get any relief in this regard.