Chandigarh: The Vigilance Bureau arrested former Punjab minister and BJP leader Sunder Sham Arora for allegedly offering a bribe of Rs 50 lakh to one of its officers to help him clear his name in the inquiries that were going on against him, a top official said on Sunday.
Arora was arrested on Saturday night in Zirakpur in Mohali when he tried to allegedly hand over the cash to the Assistant Inspector General of the Vigilance Bureau. He is the third former minister of the previous Congress government to be arrested after the AAP government came to power in March this year. Earlier, the Vigilance Bureau had arrested former ministers Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and Bharat Bhushan Ashu in different cases.
Also read: Punjab AIG arrested by Vigilance Bureau in Rs 1 crore bribery case from 2016
The investigation against Arora in a disproportionate assets case and alleged irregularities when he was helm as the Industries Minister in the previous Congress government. Arora joined the BJP after tendering his resignation to the Congress in June this year. Addressing the media on Sunday, chief director of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau Varinder Kumar on Sunday said that Arora was arrested for allegedly offering Rs 50 lakh as a bribe to the vigilance officer to help him in these cases.
Kumar said Arora allegedly contacted AIG Manmohan Kumar Sharma, who is supervising the inquiries, on October 14 and told him to help him clear his name in the inquiries. The former minister allegedly offered to pay Rs 1 crore for it, said Kumar. He offered to pay Rs 50 lakh as the first instalment and the remaining amount later, the chief director said.
After Sharma brought it to the notice of his seniors, a case was registered and a trap was laid to arrest Arora. He was arrested when he tried to hand over a bag containing Rs 50 lakh cash, Kumar said. A case under the relevant section of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against him, said Kumar.
Arora will be later in the day produced before a court in Mohali. He has been under vigilance scanner for the alleged irregularities in the allotment of industrial plots of the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation when he was the industries minister in the previous government.
