Bhattal gets clean chit in graft case

Seven years after Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, former Chief Minister and present Punjab Congress chief, was booked on charges of misappropriation of money from the Chief Minister’s Fund, a Chandigarh court on Saturday discharged her.

Chandigarh Additional District and Sessions Judge Raj Rahul Garg allowed an application moved by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau seeking permission to withdraw the case following submission of cancellation report in the case.

While Bhattal was ecstatic over the court verdict, her opponents in the party claimed that she had been let off by the SAD-BJP Government in a quid pro quo for having supported the Government in getting panchayat elections postponed. However, Bhattal’s bitter foe and former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder said he was happy that she had been let off.