Punjab VB arrests ex-minister Sunder Sham Arora for bribing official

Chandigarh, October 16: Punjab Vigilance Bureau has arrested former industries minister Sunder Sham Arora on the charges of bribing a Vigilance official.

The revelation was made by the Chief Director of Vigilance Bureau, Punjab during a press conference on Sunday. According to the VB, Arora, who recently switched from Congress to the BJP, was apprehended in Zirakpur while trying to bribe a Vigilance official with Rs 50 lakhs. Arora was allegedly discussing paying a bribe of Rs one crore to get his name removed from vigilance cases.

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Arora was offering a bribe of Rs 50 lakh to the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of the Bureau, Manmohan Kumar. 

According to a press note from Vigilance, an FIR has been filed against the BJP leader under section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act on the statement of AIG Manmohan Kumar. 

Chief Director of Vigilance Bureau Varinder Kumar informed on Sunday that AIG Manmohan Kumar complained that Arora met him on October 14 and offered him Rs 1 crore for getting favour in a vigilance enquiry registered against him.

The former minister has also offered to pay Rs 50 lakh on the next day, October 15, and the balance at a later date, according to the Vigilance Bureau chief.

He stated that the AIG had alerted the chief director, who had ordered the filing of a bribery case against Arora. Arora was arrested in this case, and Rs 50 lakh was recovered from him.

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Further investigation is underway.

Notably, the Vigilance Bureau (VB) summoned former Minister Sunder Sham Arora on Wednesday. He has been investigated for alleged irregularities in the transfer and bifurcation of a 25-acre land of erstwhile Punjab Anand Lamps Limited (Philips) in Mohali's Phase IX. 

According to the VB, there has been a loss of around Rs 600 crore to the state exchequer in the case.

The alleged role of BJP leader Arora in "irregularities" in the allotment of industrial plots of the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC), including the auction of industrial land formerly given to the JCT, is already being investigated.

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-PTC News