Tribune News ServiceA bitter business rivalry and assertion of political power sums up the events that led to the arrest of former Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar in an abetment to suicide case of Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, district manager of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation.A week after Randhawa’s death on March 21, the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation (PSWC) has “unofficially” concluded that the objections raised by Laljit’s father, Sukhdev Singh Bhullar, against allotment of tender to Baba Naga Agri Pvt Ltd had little substance.The firm not only offered the closest site to the Patti rail head, but the rent offered by them was much less as compared to the charges offered by Sukhdev.Official sources have told The Tribune that Sukhdev had written to the state level committee formed to select the L 1 bidder, stating that the distance of his site was calculated from the Tarn Taran rail head instead of Patti rail head, as was mandated in the notice inviting tenders.While opposing the choice of Baba Naga Agri Pvt Ltd as L1 bidder, Sukhdev had reportedly sought a fresh survey to ascertain his site’s distance from the Patti rail head, maintaining that it would be less than the distance of his rival.“The file is with the PSWC… but they have unofficially confirmed that Baba Naga Agri Pvt Ltd’s site is nearer. This makes their selection as L1 bidders correct,” said a senior government officer on condition of anonymity. He added that on both counts — distance from the rail head and rent offered — Baba Naga Agri Pvt Ltd fit the bill for tender allotment to build godown of 30,000 MT capacity.The official said once the Food Corporation of India (FCI) clears the file, the case is referred to the high-powered committee of the Government of India for final approval.The godown is to be made for the FCI on a Build, Own and Lease basis for 10 years under the Private Entrepreneurs Guarantee (PEG) scheme.It has been alleged that former minister Laljit was pressurising Randhawa to show that the distance of his father’s site was less than the distance of his business rival’s location and to overlook the passing of high tension lines over the site.He allegedly wanted Randhawa to bypass norms and allot the tender to his father.