Punjab VB arrests former Congress MLA Satkar Kaur, husband in disproportionate assets case

Mohali, September 18: The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Monday arrested former Congress MLA from Ferozepur Rural Satkar Kaur Gehri and her husband Jasmail Singh, alias Laddi Gehri, in connection with a disproportionate assets (DA) case. While Satnam Kaur was arrested from Mohali, her husband was taken into custody from their Ferozepur residence.

Satkar Kaur Gehri (44) served as the Congress MLA from Ferozepur Rural in 2017 but switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2022 after being denied a ticket by the Congress. Her involvement in the disproportionate assets case led to her questioning by the Vigilance Bureau (VB) in March also.

Allegations of amassing wealth beyond their declared income had been levied against both Satkar Kaur and her husband Laddi Gehri. The Vigilance Bureau had been conducting an investigation into these allegations for several months following a complaint.

A Vigilance team had also conducted searches at their residence. 

Notably, Ladi Gehri was a powerful member of the District Council during Captain Amarinder Singh's government. Despite switching allegiance to the BJP after not receiving a Congress ticket in the last legislative assembly elections, allegations against him have continued.

In the 2012 Assembly elections, Satkar Kaur was selected as the candidate for a reserved seat by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who even visited her constituency to rally for her campaign. Despite his support, she faced a narrow defeat to Shiromani Akali Dal's Joginder Singh Jindu, losing by a mere 16 votes.

However, the tables turned in the 2017 elections, as she made a strong comeback and secured a resounding victory by defeating Jindu with a significant margin of over 23,000 votes.

In a surprising turn of events in 2022, the Congress party chose not to field her as a candidate, and she was subsequently expelled from the party due to allegations of engaging in anti-party activities. In response to these developments, Satkar Kaur decided to join the BJP.