Latest news with #BharatBhushanAshu
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Ludhiana court grants interim bail to Bharat Bhushan Ashu in ₹2,400 crore land misuse case
A day after the Punjab vigilance bureau issued summons to former minister and Congress candidate for the Ludhiana West byelection, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, in a ₹2,400 crore land misuse case, a local court granted him interim bail on Friday. The court also directed Ashu to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. Ashu's counsel, advocate Vijay Mahendru, confirmed that additional sessions judge Jaspinder Singh granted interim relief to the Congress leader, instructing him to join the probe whenever summoned by the investigating officer. The matter is scheduled for next hearing on June 11. In its order, the court observed that Ashu was not initially named in the FIR and was only added later. The judge noted, 'The case of the prosecution is based on documentary evidence. The applicant is directed to join the investigation as and when called by the investigating officer. In the event of his arrest, he shall be released on interim bail by the investigating officer.' Ashu, in his plea, contended that the case was politically motivated and timed to disrupt his election campaign. He maintained that his implication was baseless and intended to malign his image ahead of the crucial by-election.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
School land misuse case: Ludhiana court grants interim bail to Ashu, orders him to join probe
A court in Ludhiana Friday granted interim bail to Congress leader Bharat Bhushan Ashu but directed him to join the investigation in the school land misuse case in which he was issued summons Thursday by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau, leading to a political uproar. Ashu is Congress candidate for June 19 bypoll to Ludhiana West Assembly seat that he has represented twice in the past. 'The applicant (Ashu) was not named in the FIR, he has been subsequently named. The case of the prosecution is based on documentary evidence. So, the applicant is directed to join the investigation as and when called by the Investigating Officer and in the event of his arrest, the applicant shall be released on interim bail by the Arresting/Investigating officer,' read the order issued by court of additional sessions judge Jaspinder Singh. The court fixed June 11 as next date hearing. Ashu's counsel Vijay Mahendru said the Congress leader had submitted in the court that he was falsely implicated in the case 'only to sabotage his election campaign.' It was submitted in the court that the FIR in the case was registered on January 8, 2025 at Division Number 5 police station of Ludhiana on the complaint of Executive Officer, Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) for action against management committee of New Senior Secondary School. It was alleged that under the scheme of LIT, 4.7 acres of land in Sarabha Nagar was allotted to the committee for running a senior secondary school. As per the agreement, the land could not be used for any other purpose. However, in March 1971, a complaint was received from local residents that a college was being constructed at the site. However, as per the agreement, only school could be constructed on it Thereafter, a letter was issued to stop the construction of the college. Further, in 2023, several other complaints were received that private playway schools and other shops/businesses were running on the allotted land. After an inquiry, the current FIR was registered under the sections 420, 120-B, 467, 468, 471 and 409 of IPC against management committee members. Divya Goyal is a Principal Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Punjab. Her interest lies in exploring both news and feature stories, with an effort to reflect human interest at the heart of each piece. She writes on gender issues, education, politics, Sikh diaspora, heritage, the Partition among other subjects. She has also extensively covered issues of minority communities in Pakistan and Afghanistan. She also explores the legacy of India's partition and distinct stories from both West and East Punjab. She is a gold medalist from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi, the most revered government institute for media studies in India, from where she pursued English Journalism (Print). Her research work on 'Role of micro-blogging platform Twitter in content generation in newspapers' had won accolades at IIMC. She had started her career in print journalism with Hindustan Times before switching to The Indian Express in 2012. Her investigative report in 2019 on gender disparity while treating women drug addicts in Punjab won her the Laadli Media Award for Gender Sensitivity in 2020. She won another Laadli for her ground report on the struggle of two girls who ride a boat to reach their school in the border village of Punjab. ... Read More
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Congress leaders rally behind Ashu in wake of VB summons
Ludhiana: Thirteen days ahead of the Ludhiana West bypoll, the Vigilance summons issued to Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu became the talk of the town. Suspension of SSP, Vigilance, Ludhiana, Jagatpreet Singh, hours after he issued the summons to Ashu, added to the mystery. Ashu had been asked to appear at the office by 10am on Friday. Interestingly, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders claimed that Ashu got the summons issued in collusion with the SSP to garner sympathy. The SSP is said to be a former classmate of one of Ashu's associates. However, this led to questions about Ashu's influence, despite not being part of the government. Netizens also recalled how Ashu was jailed for months in a Vigilance case. Later, Punjab and Haryana high court quashed the case, saying that it was lodged to harass him. The fresh VB summons has left social media abuzz again. For the Congress, the summons has had a unifying effect, with Congress leaders rallying behind Ashu. Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring reached Ludhiana and held a press conference in Ashu's support. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Pinga-Pinga e HBP? Tome isso 1x ao dia se tem mais de 40 anos Portal Saúde do Homem Clique aqui Undo Many other senior Congress leaders, including leader of opposition, Partap Singh Bajwa and former deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who remained distant from Ashu's campaign so far, extended their support on X (previously Twitter). During a press conference organised at the election office of the Congress, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, former minister Pargat Singh, Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh, and former MLA Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu criticised the Punjab government for misusing government agencies to target Congress leaders and workers. Ashu said that the AAP government wanted to put him behind bars. He added that om the days to come, AAP would try to implicate him and his supporters. "If AAP manages to succeed in their malafide attempts to implicate me in any case, I will still contest elections from jail," Ashu announced. He added that after June 19, Congress legal team would take notice of all false cases and complaints lodged against party workers. Box: Warring wants to go to VB office with Ashu As Bharat Bhushan Ashu had been asked to appear at the VB office by 10am on Friday, party's Punjab president, Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, called him early in the morning, saying that he wanted to accompany him to the VB office. This was confirmed by both Ashu and Warring. However, Ashu said that he would continue with his election campaign and join the investigation after poll day on June 19. Box: Leaders on X We knew the AAP govt can stoop to any low. It has lived up to its ugly reputation by issuing summons to Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu in an old case he has no direct link with, in the midst of the Ludhiana by-election campaign. We are not deterred or intimidated; we never will be. Rather, we feel happy that the AAP has accepted defeat much ahead of the D-Day by resorting to such intimidation. No matter what the govt does, no matter to what extreme it stoops, the writing is on the wall; AAP is on the way out, and the Congress is on the comeback. Jai Hind. Amrinder Singh Raja Warring Bhagwant Mann has lost his mind, now acting like a full-blown dictator. Misusing state agencies to target Bharat Bhushan Ashu just before the Ludhiana West bypolls shows how scared AAP is. This vendetta politics won't work. People of Ludhiana will teach AAP a historic lesson on June 19. Pratap Singh Bajwa By sending summons to our Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Bhagwant Mann made it clear that his party is losing, and now he is ready to do every dirty trick to win. Mann Sahab, your nonsense is going beyond the scope of democracy. Don't worry, all Punjabis are watching. They will teach you a lesson in democracy very soon. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa MSID:: 121678021 413 | Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Eid wishes , messages , and quotes !
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
VB summons Congress' Bharat Bhushan Ashu in ₹2,400-cr school land misuse case
Congress' Ludhiana West candidate and ex-minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu has been summoned by the Ludhiana unit of the vigilance bureau in connection with a ₹2,400 crore scam involving misuse of school land in Sarabha Nagar. The summons, issued on June 4 by deputy superintendent of police Vinod Kumar directs Ashu to appear for questioning on Friday (June 6) at 10 am. The case dates back to January 8, 2025, when an FIR was lodged at police station division no 5 under Sections 420 (cheating), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 467, 468, 471 (forgery), and 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The case revolves around 4.7 acres of land allotted by the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) decades ago to run the New Senior Secondary School in Sarabha Nagar. The land was given at a subsidised rate strictly for educational purposes. However, investigations revealed that parts of this land are being illegally used for commercial activities. Multiple private playway schools and businesses are operating on the premises, with the school management allegedly collecting hefty rents, a serious violation estimated to involve ₹2,400 crore in financial irregularities. The police on January 8 this year, had already lodged an FIR against the school following the complaint filed by chairman, Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT). Following his complaint, the case was transferred to the vigilance bureau after alleged financial irregularities surfaced during the probe. Ashu who remained minister of food, civil supplies, and consumer affairs during previous Congress government in the state was embroiled in the 2022 ₹2,000-crore foodgrain transportation tender scam. He faced allegations of awarding contracts to fraudulent contractors submitting fake vehicle registrations, inflating transport numbers, and misusing public funds. He was arrested in August 2022. In December 2024, the Punjab and Haryana high court quashed two criminal cases registered against Ashu. While one FIR was registered on August 16, 2022, in Ludhiana by the vigilance bureau, the second FIR was registered by the vigilance bureau on September 22, 2022, in Jalandhar. Reacting to summon, Ashu said, 'I am busy with my campaigning and have not received any such summons. After campaigning, I will respond accordingly.'
Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
VB summon in cheating case for today, Ashu says will go only after Ludhiana West bypoll
Ludhiana: As campaigning for the Ludhiana West assembly byelections intensifies ahead of the June 19 polling, the vigilance bureau (VB), Ludhiana unit, has summoned Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu for questioning in a cheating and fraud case at its office on Friday at 10 am. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Ashu, however, called the summons a bid to derail his campaign as AAP could sense defeat. "It is again misusing VB, as it did in the foodgrain tender case," he said. "I was not at home when VB officials came. My family received the summons. I will appear before VB only after June 19," he added. The case pertains to allegations against the management of New Higher Secondary School, Sarabha Nagar, where an FIR was first registered on Jan 8 at Division V police station. The complaint alleges that the school management was involved in cheating and illegally conducting commercial activities on land allotted by Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) for educational purposes. The deputy commissioner's office, citing the complaint, has alleged a Rs 2,400-crore fraud linked to these unauthorised commercial ventures on the school premises. Alumni of the school have long demanded action against the management, taking up the issue with Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora. After these representations, the administration took notice, and the LIT filed the FIR. On May 12, Division 8 police registered a second FIR accusing the school management of renting out staff quarters and classrooms as paying guest (PG) accommodations. This complaint was filed by the superintendent at DC office. In response to the second FIR, LIT revoked the land allotment. On May 19, VB launched a probe into the matter. The trust managing the school is chaired by a longtime friend of Ashu.
