Ex-Punjab minister held for graft sent to police custody till Oct 19

Chandigarh, Oct 16 (IANS) The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Sunday arrested former state minister Sunder Sham Arora, who recently switched loyalties from the Congress to the BJP, for offering Rs 50 lakh bribe to an assistant inspector general (AIG) of the bureau.

A trial court later sent him to police remand till October 19.

The VB also recovered Rs 50 lakh from his possession.

Arora, who has been facing charges of disproportionate assets and irregularities during his tenure as industries minister in the previous Congress government, is the third former minister of the last regime to be arrested after the AAP came to power in Punjab.

Earlier, the VB had arrested former ministers Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and Bharat Bhushan Ashu in different cases.

Vigilance Bureau Chief Director Varinder Kumar told the media that an FIR under Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered on Saturday against Arora based on the statement of AIG Manmohan Kumar.

He said the AIG lodged a complaint that Arora met him on October 14 and offered him Rs 1 crore for getting favour in a vigilance enquiry registered against him.

The vigilance chief said the former minister had offered to pay Rs 50 lakh on October 15, while the balance amount was to be paid at a later date.