Punjab AAP MLA arrested by Vigilance for taking bribe; Bureau to seek custody in court

Amit Rattan Kotfatta arrest follows the arrest of his aide who accepted Rs 4 lakhs as bribe to release a government grant of Rs 25 lakh.

Chandigarh: The Vigilance Bureau of Punjab arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Amit Rattan Kotfatta in connection with a bribery case from Rajpura, on Thursday. Amit's arrest comes days after the arrest of his close aide Rashim Garg. The latter was accused of accepting a bribe of Rs 4 lakh.

Amit had denied having any association with this bribery case then. Sources said the legislator who was elected from Bathinda's Rural seat will be produced in a court later in the day to seek his custodial remand in the case wherein the MLA has sought Rs 5 lakh as bribe to release a grant of Rs 25 lakh.

An FIR was filed against the legislator based on a complaint from Preetpal Singh, husband of the woman Sarpanch of village Khudda. The complainant also submitted an audio clip of Garg demanding a bribe of Rs 4 lakhs from his wife. Preetpal Singh claimed that the MLA himself had asked for Rs 4 lakh from his wife over the phone. Singh handed over this video clip to the Vigilance department.

Sources said the MLA was picked up on Wednesday. After conducting a forensic examination of the audio clip, the Vigilance department arrested the legislator on Thursday. After conducting his medical examination, the MLA will be produced to a court where the Bureau will seek his remand for custodial interrogation.

Rashim Garg was arrested on Feb. 16 after he was caught with Rs 4 lakh cash by the Vigilance Bureau of Punjab. Preetpal Singh, in his complaint, against Garg alleged that the lawmaker was demanding a bribe of Rs 5 lakh in lieu of releasing a government grant of Rs 25 lakh to the village.