In a major development ahead of the high-stakes Ludhiana West Assembly bypoll, Senior Superintendent of Police (Vigilance Bureau), Ludhiana, Jagatpreet Singh, was suspended on Friday. The suspension order came a day after the SSP had issued summons to Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu in connection with a Rs 2,400-crore scam involving misuse of school land in Sarabha Nagar here.
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An official order said Jagatpreet had been suspended for grave misconduct and dereliction of duty. Senior VB officials confirmed the suspension but were silent about the reasons behind the decision.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday, Cabinet minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond while clearing the air behind the SSP's suspension, said Jagatpreet had an old association with Ashu. Claiming the SSP was an old classmate of Ashu, Sond said he colluded with the Congress candidate in issuing the summons. "The SSP issued summons at the behest of Ashu so that he could show himself as a victim of vendetta politics and seek sympathy votes in the bypoll," added Sond.
The minister maintained that as the government thoroughly investigated the issue, the SSP's nefarious plans were exposed and he was immediately suspended.
It is learnt that the VB had issued summons to Ashu and 25 others (present and former members of the school management) in connection with the case.
The VB had asked Ashu to appear before the bureau at 10 am on Friday. However, Ashu on Friday morning said he would not visit the VB office, as the summons had been issued to divert his attention from the ongoing election campaign.
Notably, the management of New Senior Secondary School, Sarabha Nagar, has been in trouble ever since the VB took over the probe into the case of fraud and illegal commercial activities on the land allotted to the school management by the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT). The LIT chairman had filed a complaint, leading to the registration of an FIR against New Higher Secondary School on January 8. According to the chairman, the school was allotted 4.71 acres of land in 1966-1967 at a concessional rate of Rs 94,200, specifically for establishing a school in Sarabha Nagar. The allotment terms stipulated that the land could only be used for educational purposes, prohibiting any other activities.
Meanwhile, Ashu shared a photo in which AAP candidate Sanjeev Arora could be seen holding a meeting with administrative officials. Jagatpreet was also present in that meeting. Ashu raised a question of whether a candidate of the ruling party could hold a meeting with officials.
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