Punjab: Ludhiana court dismisses bail application of ex-minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu

LUDHIANA: A Ludhiana court on Friday dismissed the bail application of former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu and his aide Inderjit Singh in the food grain transportation scam case.
The court held that counsels for the applicant have projected the case of the applicant as that of complete no concern with the allegations coming on the file.
“But, when at this stage, the investigation is taken in its entirety, there is apparent involvement of the applicant in the entire process right from the allotment of the tender. It is not in dispute that the applicant was the minister of the department, to which, these tenders relates,” the court observed.
“The specific role of the applicant is coming at this stage and there is no reason or enmity coming on the file, due to which, the co-accused could be disbelieved at this stage. A detailed inquiry has also been conducted in the case before the lodging of the FIR and the statement of witnesses were recorded from which the role of the applicant has come on the file,” the court remarked.
“The plea of political vendatta, at the first instance, seem to be attractive, but when the entire investigation till now is seen, the plea is not believable. The investigation is at initial stage and as it proceeds and more accused are arrested in the case, there seems to be possibility of much bigger scam than it looks at this stage,” it observed.
It observed that the gravity of the offence and the possibility of influencing witnesses related to the case are also much relevant consideration for the regular bail.