Chandigarh, Oct 5 (IANS) Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia on Monday targeted the Bhagwant Mann government after the Punjab and Haryana High Court handed over to the CBI the investigation into alleged corruption involving Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s OSD Rajbir Singh Ghuman and other associates.
Calling the High Court order a significant development in state politics, Majithia said the court had directed the CBI to register a criminal case, investigate the allegations and submit a status report within two months. He said the matter was no longer limited to political allegations and that the complete record would now come before the investigating agency.
“The questions we have been putting before the people of Punjab for a long time must now be answered through evidence during the investigation. The truth must come out,” Majithia said.
He said the most serious aspect was that the Enforcement Directorate had written three letters to the Punjab DGP seeking action and registration of an FIR over alleged corruption, but the matter did not move forward. This eventually led to the matter reaching the High Court through a public interest petition, following which the court handed the investigation to the CBI.
Majithia alleged that certain police officers had attempted to prevent the matter from progressing and allegedly destroy evidence in order to protect people close to Chief Minister Mann, including his OSD Ghuman, Ghuman’s associate Nitin Gohal and others.
He alleged that former DGP L.K. Yadav was also involved in this process. Majithia said the CBI should investigate what action the Punjab Police took on the letters sent by the ED, which officers took decisions on them and why there was a delay in registering an FIR.
“If there was any attempt at any level to tamper with evidence, influence the investigation or allegedly protect anyone, responsibility must also be fixed, and strict action should be taken against the officials found responsible,” he said.
–IANS
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