Graft case: HC bail to ex-minister

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday granted regular bail to former forest minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot in connection with an alleged forest scam. Dharamsot has been behind bars since his arrest on June 7.
Justice Raj Mohan Singh of the high court passed these orders while allowing a plea filed by Dharamsot for regular bail. The copy of the order, however, was not available till the filing of this report.
The case against the former minister was registered by the Punjab vigilance bureau. As per the prosecution, Dharamsot, in connivance with other accused from the forest department and private contractors, was involved in organised corruption pertaining to permits for cutting of Khair trees, transfer of department officials, purchases in the department and issuance of NOCs. On August 7, the bureau had presented a challan of 900 pages in the Mohali court against Dharamsot and several others. The case is pending trial in a Mohali court. tnn