Former Punjab minister Sunder Sham Arora was on Sunday arrested by the state vigilance bureau for allegedly offering a bribe of Rs 50 lakh to an Assistant Inspector General (AIG) to "settle" the ongoing inquiries against him.
Arora, who joined the BJP after quitting the Congress in June, was arrested on Saturday night in Zirakpur in Mohali when he tried to allegedly hand over the cash to the Assistant Inspector General of the vigilance bureau.
Varinder Kumar, chief director of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau, told reporters that Arora was arrested for allegedly offering Rs 50 lakh in bribe to the vigilance officer to "help" him in these cases.
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Kumar informed that AIG Manmohan Kumar has complained that Arora met him on October 14, 2022 and offered him Rs 1 crore for getting favour in a vigilance enquiry registered against him.
The VB chief further added that the former minister offered to pay Rs 50 lakh on next day i.e. October 15, 2022 and the balance amount at a later date. He informed that the AIG apprised the chief director who ordered to register bribery case against the accused. In this case, Arora was arrested and Rs 50 lakh was recovered from him.
A vigilance bureau official later said the court granted a three-day police remand and he will be produced before the court on October 19.
Arora has been under vigilance scanner for the alleged irregularities in the allotment of industrial plots of the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation and the sale of a 32-acre of the commercial plot of JCT Electronics Limited in Mohali to a realty firm when he was the industries minister in the previous government.
