Bhalla is a close aide of former Punjab minister for food and civil supplies Bharat Bhushan Ashu, the co-accused in the case. Ashu was earlier arrested in the case. (File)A local court of Ludhiana Saturday released Congress councillor Gagandeep Sunny Bhalla from police remand in the alleged grain-lifting transportation and labour cartage tenders scam.
Bhalla was arrested by the vigilance bureau on October 12 and sent to two-day police remand. However, Saturday, the bureau informed the court that nothing came out against him during the investigation.
“Bhalla was arrested in this case under Section 41(1) of the CrPC and a two-day police remand was granted by the court. During the investigation nothing came out against him. So, a request was made by the investigating officer in the case to discharge him which the court has accepted,” said Ravinderpal Singh Sandhu, SSP vigilance, Ludhiana range.
Bhalla is a close aide of former Punjab minister for food and civil supplies Bharat Bhushan Ashu, the co-accused in the case. Ashu was earlier arrested in the case.
Earlier the vigilance had claimed that Bhalla had helped Ashu in concealing and investing bribe money and wasn’t cooperating in interrogation following which he was arrested. Since Ashu’s arrest, Bhalla was among the active Congress leaders who protested against the arrest and claimed that Ashu was “implicated in a false case”.
The vigilance has alleged that many contractors had bagged contracts for lifting and transporting wheat and paddy grains from the mandis of Ludhiana district after paying bribes. The vigilance further said that the in-gate passes pertaining to loading and unloading of food grains and registration numbers of the vehicles used for the carriage have been found to be of scooters, motorcycles and cars, which cannot transport foodgrains.
“The details of the registration numbers of the said vehicles as well as the quantity of the commodity mentioned in these gate passes prima facie appears to be a case of fake reporting and embezzlement of the food grains,” the bureau had said.
On Friday, Congress’s Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu had claimed that the vigilance bureau and the AAP government are targeting and harassing Congress leaders and Bhalla was being punished just because he is close to Ashu.