A screenshot of the video recorded by SAD leader Sarup Chand Singla inside Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant, Bathinda. A DAY after former SAD MLA Sarup Chand Singla made allegations of illegal sand mining inside the Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant (GNDTP) premises, Bathinda police formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the complaint.
Bathinda SSP Bhupinder Singh Virk said: “A three-member SIT has been formed. Its members are SP city Jaspal Singh, DSP city 1 Aswant Singh and area SHO Ravinder Singh. They have been told to submit an inquiry report in a week.complaint regarding alleged attack on Singla will also be investigated and due action will be taken as per law.”
On Sunday morning, Singla had done a Facebook live session from inside the thermal plant, in which he accused Bathinda MLA Manpreet Singh Badal and his brother-in-law and Congress leader Jaijeet Singh Johal of being involved in alleged illegal sand mining.
Shooting the video in an area where trucks were being loaded, he said: Look at this area and jija-saala have made it a way of illegal sand mining. Everything is clear now.” Johal however had denied the allegations and said it was fly ash, not sand, being taken away by trucks, and “nothing illegal was being done”.
Singla however said: “I submitted a complaint to the SSP on an affidavit that I myself saw sand mining being done. Fine sand is being taken out from that area where fly ash is lying dumped for the past many years. This illegal sand mining is going on since after Congress government came into power and we have all proof of the same. If FIR will not be lodged against the culprits, I will approach High Court. I will quit politics, if I am proved wrong in this complaint.”
On Sunday, soon afer Singla’s Facebook live, Congress MLA Amarinder Raja Warring had also tweeted the same video and asked the Punjab CM to get the matter investigated. Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu had retweeted Warring’s tweet.
However, on Monday, Warring made no further reaction to the issue.
Manpreet Badal’s office refuted allegations of Singla but there was no word on Warring’s tweet.
Police sources said over 900 acres of GNDTP area is filled with fly ash and it is being taken out of the area on a regular basis.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
