Ludhiana Vigilance Bureau probe in viral chat between arhtiya & Punsup official

LUDHIANA: An old chat purportedly between an official of Punjab State Civil Supplies Corporation (Punsup) with an arthiya has gone viral in the backdrop of the alleged transportation tender scam, in which Ludhiana Vigilance Bureau arrested former food, civil supplies and consumer affairs minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu.
In the chat, the Punsup official and arthiya allegedly discussed arrangement of funds for Rahul Gandhi's rally, fees (bribe) to Punsup managing director and 'mantri' (minister), smuggling of low-cost paddy from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar etc. In October 2020, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) circulated the chat, following which a Punsup official was suspended. Then minister Ashu said that the chat was fabricated.
With the chats, dating back to October 4 - October 5, 2020 going viral again, the Vigilance Bureau has started a probe. Ludhiana senior superintendent of police (SSP), Vigilance Bureau Ravinder Pal Singh Sandhu said, "We are verifying clues and information."
Vigilance sources said that they would soon question the suspended official and those involved in the chat, in which "commission" and "fund" was being sought for the minister. When the arthiya in the clip objected to giving tenders to one person, the official replied that tenders were approved by the minister.
Senior SAD leader Maheshinder Singh Grewal, who addressed a press conference in Chandigarh in October 2020, said, "We got this chat and addressed a press conference at the time. After that, then minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu suspended a top official of Punsup who talked about the commission for the MD and minister and also confessed about paddy being smuggled from other states in connivance with the minister and officials. But no probe was conducted against the MD and minister Ashu."
In the chat, one person said, "I will have to talk to the mandi president. I will make a collection from Punsup shops according to 65 paisa," to which the other person replied, "I will not take 65 paisa. I have told pardhaan the rate of 1 paisa per sack, 5 for bogus billing per sack and 50 paisa per sack for grain smuggled from other state."
As for smuggling of paddy, a person said, "Tell Sanori mandi, Rajpura, Mardapur and Ghanour inspectors that we will get UP maal after 15." To this, the other person said, "Everything will be managed with the fees."