Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) will initiate criminal proceedings against the prime accused in infamous tender allotment scam in the grain markets — the state Food and Civil Supplies Department’s deputy director Rakesh Kumar Singla — after the Ludhiana court of Chief Judicial Magistrate declared him Proclaimed Offender (PO).
VB spokesperson said that the main accused, Singla, was appointed as the Department’s Chief Vigilance Committee’s chairman and given additional charge of inspection of wooden crates and labour and transportation policy by the former Food and Civil Supplies Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, who is also in judicial custody in the matter.
Spokesperson said that during the investigations of different accused in the case, “it has come to light that Rakesh Singla had demanded Rs 30 lakh bribe and obtained Rs 20 lakh from accused contractor or tenderer Telu Ram, who in turn had got allotment of labour and transportation tenders for different grain markets”.
After the court orders, the Vigilance would initiate process to issue Red Corner Notice (RCN) against Singla to effectuate his arrest as he has reportedly gone abroad to evade his arrest, said the spokesperson.
Spokesperson added that the VB has got valuable information regarding his ill-gotten wealth made out of huge bribes as the Vigilance’s technical team had also made assessment of his properties.
Notably, the VB had registered a case on August 16, 2022, under sections 420, 409, 467, 468, 471, 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 7, 8, 12, 13(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act against contractor Telu Ram, Jagroop Singh, Sandeep Bhatia and owner or partners of Gurdas Ram & Company as well as officers or officials of Food and Civil Supplies Department besides respective officials or employees of the concerned procurement agencies.
In this case, out of 17 accused, six has been arrested and in the jail. Efforts were being made to arrest the remaining accused in this case, added he spokesperson.
Among those arrested include former Congress minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, contractor Telu Ram, two commission agents — Krishan Lal Dhotiwala and Anil Jain. They are currently in judicial custody.
In addition, the VB has already presented preliminary chargesheet against Ashu, Telu Ram, and Krishan Lal in the competent court at Ludhiana on November 14.
Ashu, who was the Food and Civil Supplies Minister in the erstwhile Congress Government, was arrested on August 22 from a Ludhiana salon amid high drama with his party accusing the AAP government of a “witch-hunt”.