Chandigarh, April 17 -- The Punjab vigilance bureau has sought fresh sanction from the state government to initiate a probe against former chief minister and Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi regarding alleged irregularities in leasing a government property in Goa at lower-than-market rates, officials aware of the matter said on Thursday.

The VB action, filed under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, follows a preliminary inquiry into the leasing of a Punjab tourism department property during Channi's tenure as CM (September 2021 to March 2022).

Channi, Lok Sabha MP from Jalandhar and a prominent Dalit face of the Congress in Punjab, has dubbed the move as political vendetta.

The Section 17A of the Prevention of Corru...