Disproportionate assets: VB raids house of ex-MLA

Ludhiana: The Vigilance Bureau (Ludhiana range) on Monday conducted a raid at the house of former Congress MLA Kuldeep Singh Vaid in Sarabha Nagar in Ludhiana. According to officials, the VB has initiated a regular inquiry against Vaid for possession of assets and properties more than his income.
Kuldeep Vaid, a former Punjab Civil Service (PCS) officer of 1992 batch, had been upgraded to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 2007. During his service, he had served as Moga deputy commissioner and additional chief administrator at Greater Ludhiana Area Development (Glada), besides other postings. He contested Punjab assembly elections on Congress ticket in 2017 from Ludhiana’s Gill constituency and emerged victorious. In 2022, he had lost elections to AAP nominee Jeevan Singh Sangowal.
For a brief period, Vaid was also appointed as a chairperson of Punjab State Warehousing Corporation when Charanjit Singh Channi was the Punjab chief minister.
Senior superintendent of police, VB (Ludhiana range), Ravinderpal Singh Sandhu said the vigilance bureau has initiated a disproportionate assets inquiry against Vaid following a secret information. A technical team from VB headquarters came for the assessment of Vaid’s properties, including a café adjoining his residence. VB has the information of nine properties owned by Vaid. Further, the VB will summon Vaid for the probe.
On the other side, Vaid called the VB raid a political vendetta and said he has nothing to hide. He also said VB did not serve him any notice before conducting the raid.
Vaid said, “The details of my properties and assets are already submitted with the government, so I have nothing to hide. Anything I own is made from the earnings of my service of over 30 years. But, I will definitely cooperate with the VB.”
Kuldeep Vaid’s wife Kamaljit Kaur has retired as a principal from a government school, while his son Harkaran Singh Vaid is a Congress councillor and daughter-in-law is a fashion designer-cum-social media influencer.
Congress leaders condemned VB probe against Vaid. Lashing out against the AAP government, senior Congress leader Parminder Mehta said, “After failing on all fronts and their false pre-poll promises, AAP is now indulging in mischievous acts of using VB to divert attention of the public. It is shocking that one after another Congress leader is being targeted by VB on the instructions of AAP leaders. Instead of acting against its own ministers and MLAs who are openly indulging into acts of corruption, AAP government is trying to silence voice of Congress which has exposed the misdeeds of this government.”