CHANDIGARH: A day after the state vigilance bureau issued a summons to the Congress candidate for the Ludhiana (West) assembly seat Bharat Bhushan Ashu in connection with an alleged Rs 2,400 crore scam, the Punjab government suspended Jagatpreet Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police (Vigilance) at Ludhiana, claiming that he issued the summons in connivance with Ashu to benefit him in the ensuing bypoll.
The summons issued by Jagatpreet Singh directed Ashu to appear for questioning on Friday. The summons related to a First Information Report (FIR) registered on January 8 in which Ashu and others were accused of cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery, and conspiracy. The investigation was transferred to the Vigilance Bureau owing to the suspected involvement of government officials.
The alleged scam pertains to 4.7 acres of land given to New Senior Secondary School in Sarabha Nagar at a subsidised rate strictly for educational purposes by the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) decades ago. However, during investigations it came to light that parts of this land are being illegally used for commercial activities.
Additional Chief Secretary, (Home) Alok Shekhar, issued the order which states that Jagatpreet Singh has been placed under suspension with immediate effect under Rule 4(1) (a) of the Punjab Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 1970, for his "grave misconduct and dereliction of duty".
Meanwhile, the state Congress leadership has trashed the allegations of a nexus between Ashu and the suspended police officer.
Calling it a “a calculated attempt to intimidate” Ashu ahead of the Ludhiana West bypoll, senior Congress leader and leader of the opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said, "It’s clear that the AAP government first tried to use state machinery to scare Ashu into silence. Summons were issued to him by the Vigilance Bureau just weeks before polling—not as part of any genuine investigation, but as a crude, desperate tactic to gain political advantage."
Bajwa questioned the intent behind the timing, calling it a “desperate, dictatorial move” and a gross misuse of power. “This is not governance; this is vendetta politics at its worst,” he said.
"When their intimidation attempt backfired and public backlash intensified, the AAP shifted gears in a bizarre U-turn. In an unbelievable twist, Vigilance Bureau SSP Jagatpreet Singh—who had issued the summons to Ashu—was suddenly suspended," he said.
Calling it a "laughable face-saving stunt", he asked, "What kind of circus is this? Is Bharat Bhushan Ashu running the police department now?”
Bajwa alleged that SSP Jagatpreet Singh was seen attending a public meeting of AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP and Ludhiana West candidate Sanjeev Arora, raising serious questions about the officer’s political neutrality and the real motive behind the summons.
Meanwhile, Ashu claimed that it was a “cheap tactic of the ruling AAP government” and yet another U-turn which it has taken after facing widespread criticism. On allegations that he was in touch with the officer, Ashu asked whether he is so powerful in the AAP government that he can get a summons issued to himself.
Ashu alleged that a “message” has been sent to the local police to dig out pending cases and complaints against him so that he can be implicated and harassed again.
Punjab minister Tarunpreet Singh Sondh said the vigilance notice issued against Ashu was part of a deceitful ploy devised by the Congress candidate himself. "Upon investigation, it was uncovered that the vigilance SSP who issued the notice was a former classmate and close friend of Ashu," he said.
He alleged that Ashu manipulated his connections to fabricate the notice, aiming to portray himself as a victim and divert public attention from the scam in which he and his associates, including his brother, have been accused of misappropriating prime land meant for a school.
Sondh claimed that both the BJP and Congress have an alliance against AAP candidate Sanjeev Arora in Ludhiana West. "The BJP has conceded defeat and is urging voters not to support the AAP," he alleged.