OSD will join CBI investigation if summoned through proper channel: CM
Chandigarh, Oct. 9 -- Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday said his officer on special duty (OSD) Rajbir Singh Ghuman was ready to join the investigation if he received a summons from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) through the proper channel.
Addressing the media at his residence in Chandigarh after launching a government portal, Mann said Ghuman was not going anywhere and was ready to appear before the central investigating agency.
"We are not going anywhere. When we get a summons from CBI, we will face the investigation," the chief minister said in response to a media query about the CBI investigation against his OSD and five others as well as subsequent raids at multiple locations, including the CM's camp office.
After the searches, Mann claimed the CBI found nothing incriminating and had effectively given a "clean chit" to his government.
Ghuman is among the six accused named by CBI in connection with a corruption case involving alleged bribery and influence-peddling. The federal agency registered a first information report (FIR) on October 5 following the Punjab and Haryana High Court's order to investigate the information uncovered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) during a money laundering probe. All six were summoned by the agency on Wednesday for questioning, but they did not appear.
Mann further attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging that it had started its election campaign and this was their style - raiding opponents two-three moths before the elections.
"They did this in West Bengal, Delhi, Jharkhand, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The raid at the CM's camp office in Punjab means the state elections are on schedule, CBI has several 10-15-year-old cases, but do they take such quick action? This was all planned," he alleged.
The CM said they would not find anything as his government was taking measures to curb corruption. "People know why we are in politics. We are not from a political background. We are not here to mint crores or have a share in contracts, hotels and buses," he said.
Earlier, Mann launched HUNAR - Hub for Upskilling, Networking and Access to Rozgar- a platform for connecting students, institutes, and employers to facilitate industry hiring.
The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned till Friday the hearing on the Punjab government's plea seeking a stay on a high court order directing the CBI to probe corruption allegations against individuals linked to the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP dispensation. A bench, comprising justice Dipankar Datta and justice Sheel Nagu, deferred the matter due to a delay in the physical file reaching the bench.
"We will have it tomorrow. The file hadn't reached my brother judge (justice Nagu)," justice Datta observed orally during the brief hearing, where senior advocate Vikas Singh appeared for the Punjab government. The government plea highlights that ordering an FIR into public servants' decisions on transfers, tenders, and policies without prior sanction violates Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act....
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