An arrest warrant was issued on Tuesday against former Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal in connection with alleged financial irregularities in the purchase of a property.
The warrant was issued by the court additional chief judicial magistrate in Bathinda. A case was registered against Badal and five others in connection with the plot-buying irregularities in Bathinda.
After quitting Congress, Badal had joined BJP in January.
According to Badal’s counsel, Sukhdeep Singh, a fresh bail application before the arrest will be filed in court. He said that there was no FIR registered against Badal.
A lookout circular was issued against the former minister on Monday after teams of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau conducted raids at Badal’s residence.
Case was registered against former Bathinda Development Authority (BDA) chief administrator Bikramjit Shergill, Rajiv Kumar, Amandeep Singh, Vikas Arora and Pankaj in the matter as well. Three of them have been already arrested.
The vigilance bureau had launched an investigation into the matter based on former MLA Sarup Chand Singla's complaint in 2021 alleging irregularities in the purchase of the property at a prime location in Bathinda.
It was alleged that Badal as a minister in the previous Congress dispensation had abused his position to convert two commercial plots into a residential plot for himself.
A case was registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code including sections 420 (cheating) and 468 (forgery), and also under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
According to the vigilance bureau, there was a financial loss of lakhs of rupees to the state exchequer.