DA Probe: VB raids ex-minister Vijay Inder Singla’s ancestral house in Patiala

Sangrur: The Punjab vigilance bureau (VB) on Tuesday raided the ancestral house and a three-story commercial building of former Congress minister Vijay Inder Singla at Patiala in connection with the disproportionate assets probe.

The raids were conducted to carry out assessment of the minister’s building and money spent on renovation of his ancestral house, said officials familiar with the matter.

The ancestral house of the former minister is located near Shahi Samadhan while the three-story commercial building is near Phatak Number 22. The building has been rented out to a private bank, said an official of the VB.

“Though his house in Patiala is his ancestral house, Singla spent a large amount of money on its renovation when he was a minister. The commercial building was also constructed during his tenure as a minister. Today, the bureau has carried out an assessment of his two properties in Patiala while the value of his Sangrur residence will be assessed in coming days,” said an official, pleading anonymity.

The minister is under the VB scanner for having assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. The inquiry was initiated against him in January this year. The bureau has already questioned him in the case on March 21.

Earlier, he was summoned on March 16 but he sought time and later appeared before VB on March 21.

No headway in PWD tenders’ case

Besides the DA case, Singla is also facing another probe pertaining to the alleged manipulation in allotment of tenders of the public works department (PWD) during his tenure as a cabinet minister.

The VB had also summoned and quizzed Singla’s associates in this case in September last year. Since then, there is no headway in the probe as the VB is yet to get the record of tenders from the PWD.

“As of now, the bureau is zeroing in on only the DA case. The record was delayed because it is too lengthy and the PWD asked us to seek only specific record,” added an official of the vigilance.

Singla was elected as a member of Parliament from Sangrur in 2009 and lost to Bhagwant Mann in 2014. He won the assembly elections from Sangrur in 2017 and remained PWD and education minister during the Congress government.