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Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Chandigarh: Gillco MD moves high court for pre-arrest bail
Gillco Group managing director and BJP leader Ranjit Singh Gill has moved the Punjab and Haryana high court seeking anticipatory bail, days after Punjab vigilance bureau (VB) conducted searches at his properties. Gillco Group managing director and BJP leader Ranjit Singh Gill. (HT File) A bench of justice Aaradhna Sawhney referred the plea to the chief justice for appropriate orders, after the state counsel said the case is linked to two FIRs — one in a disproportionate assets case against Bikram Singh Majithia registered on June 25 and another drugs-related FIR registered in 2021. The government counsel has requested the matter be sent to the special bench hearing cases involving MPs and MLAs. Gill, a Kharar-based real estate developer joined the BJP on August 1. The petition alleged that he was being falsely targeted by the vigilance bureau on account of his political affiliation.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Kharar realtor Ranjeet Singh Gill seeks anticipatory bail after Punjab VB raids, alleges political vendetta
Chandigarh: Apprehending arrest by Punjab Police, Kharar-based realtor Ranjeet Singh Gill approached the Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday to seek anticipatory bail. After hearing his plea, a single bench headed by Justice Aaradhana Sawhney referred the matter to the chief justice for directions after the Punjab govt informed the court that the matter is connected with an already pending petition filed by former minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia. A separate bench is hearing all cases that are related to the former and sitting MPs and MLAs. In his petition, Gill claimed that he was falsely and maliciously targeted by the vigilance bureau (VB), Punjab, solely on account of his political affiliation. Immediately after formally joining the Bharatiya Janata Party on Aug 1, Gill said, he became the subject of a politically motivated action by the state machinery. It was contended that acting under the influence of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the VB procured search warrants in an arbitrary and clandestine manner, without issuing any summons, notice, or requisition as mandated under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like They Were So Beautiful Before; Now Look At Them; Number 10 Will Shock You Paperela Undo The court was informed that multiple raids were conducted on Aug 2 at four of the petitioner's properties, including his residence, yet no incriminating material was found. However, now the notices under Section 179 of BNSS (corresponding Section 160 CrPC) have been issued, whereby he was summoned as a witness. "The petitioner is neither named in any FIR nor linked to the case by way of any disclosure or evidence, and the jurisdictional authority of the Vigilance Bureau does not extend to him as he is not a public servant. The entire sequence of events demonstrates a clear abuse of process, malafide intent, and political vendetta aimed at coercing and humiliating the petitioner for exercising his constitutional right to political association under Article 19(1)(c) of the Constitution of India," his counsel submitted. On Aug 1, Gill joined BJP in a hurriedly called meeting with Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini at his residence. On Saturday, the bureau raided his residences.
News18
3 days ago
- News18
Two held in bribery case in Punjabs Tarn Taran
Last Updated: Chandigarh, Aug 6 (PTI) Two people have been arrested in Punjab's Tarn Taran district for taking a bribe of Rs 37,000, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau said on Thursday. The accused have been identified as Sawinder Singh, a registry clerk in Bhikhiwind, and Malkeet Singh, a deed writer in Bhikhiwind, an official spokesperson of the VB said. The accused had demanded a bribe from complainant Gurbhej Singh, a resident of village Bhikhiwind. Gurbhej Singh stated that during the division of his ancestral land, two kanals and two marlas of his agricultural land were erroneously transferred to his relatives. He had completed all the necessary formalities, including payment of fees to the government treasury, in April, he said. Despite fulfilling all required procedures and acquiring the necessary stamp papers, he was unable to get his land registry processed. To get the registry of the said land in his name, he approached Malkeet, the spokesperson added. Upon enquiring, he found that registry clerk Sawinder Singh was demanding a bribe of Rs 32,000 for processing his case. Thereafter, he filed a complaint with the VB. PTI CHS NB NB (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: August 06, 2025, 23:30 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Punjab VB busts fake licence racket in Gurdaspur, MVI among 4 held
Continuing its crackdown on corruption in the Punjab transport department, the Vigilance Bureau (VB) has unearthed a fake heavy vehicle driving licence racket in Gurdaspur, four months after uncovering a similar racket, spread across 10 districts, in April. Apart from the motor vehicle inspector (MVI), the other arrested accused include private agents who sourced applicants and facilitated document forgery. (HT) Exposing a nexus between officials of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) Gurdaspur, the State Institute of Automobile and Driving Skills Centre (SIADS), Mahuana, Muktsar Sahib, and private document agents operating in Gurdaspur district, the VB has registered a corruption case against seven accused, arresting four of them, including a motor vehicle inspector (MVI). Raids are underway to nab the remaining three. Disclosing this on Tuesday, an official VB spokesperson said an in-depth probe was launched against Pratibha Sharma, a data entry operator at RTA Gurdaspur, following a complaint by a Pathankot resident. Verification revealed that 23 out of 51 driving training certificates, purportedly issued by SIADS centre, Mahuana, were fake. The forged certificates featured manipulated system-generated fields like the unique certificate number, QR code and mobile number-embedded receipt number, which could only be altered by institute officials. The mismatch of these authenticity parameters confirmed fraudulent creation. Sukhdev Singh, a light motor vehicle (LMV) instructor and GI Driving In-charge at SIADS centre, Mahuana, allegedly misused his access to generate the fake certificates, each carrying a government fee of ₹430, causing direct financial loss to the state exchequer, the probe revealed. The spokesperson informed that the investigation pointed to the role of private agents as well, sourcing applicants and facilitating forged documentation in exchange for bribes. These include Kulbir Documents Centre, Shelly Documents Centre, GMD Documents Centre and Punjab Documents. Financial trails traced direct payments from these centres into the bank accounts of Pratibha Sharma and Rakesh Kumar, a former RTA data entry operator, now posted at SDM office, Batala. Following probe, VB arrested Rakesh and three other key accused: MVI Sukhdev Singh, who is a resident of Maidowal Kalan village in Gurdaspur; Amit Kumar of Shelly Documents Centre and Jagpreet Singh of Punjab Documents. Three other accused, Pratibha Sharma, Kulbir Singh of Kulbir Documents Centre and Rakesh Kumar of GMD Documents Centre are absconding. The arrested accused will be presented before a court on Wednesday. A case under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Indian Penal Code and IT Act has been registered at the VB police station in Amritsar. Further investigation into the case is underway. In April, in a widespread bribery network, where licences were being issued without proper driving tests, as many as 16 FIRs were registered and 24 people were arrested, including three district transport officers (DTOs), government staff and private agents. The agents and officials were arrested from Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, SBS Nagar, Sangrur, Tarn Taran, Bathinda and Gurdaspur. Investigations revealed that agents were bypassing the automated driving test system in multiple ways. Punjab has 32 automated tracks where driving tests are recorded on video and scored digitally. Agents, in collusion with RTO officials, were copy-pasting old video footage of candidates who had passed and uploaded it under the names of new applicants who never actually took the test. In many cases, the same vehicle was used multiple times, raising suspicion. Proxy drivers were also used to take tests on behalf of others, using vehicles arranged by agents.
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Punjab: Kanungo arrested for taking bribe
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Monday arrested a kanungo, Jatinder Singh, posted in Shahkot, for allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹2,000. An official spokesperson for the VB said the arrest was made following an online complaint filed by a Ludhiana resident on the chief minister's Anti-Corruption Action Line. The complainant alleged that the kanungo had demanded ₹6,000 to process the land mutation of a family member. The accused is said to have demanded ₹ 6,000 to process land mutation. (Picture only for representational purpose) 'During verification, it was found that the accused had indeed demanded ₹6,000 and had already received ₹2,000,' the spokesperson said. Following an investigation, the allegations were substantiated and a case was registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Jatinder Singh, the spokesperson said.
