DA case: Former Punjab minister Kangar stopped from boarding flight to Canada, claims VB

Former Punjab revenue minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar was not allowed to board a flight to Canada at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Sunday night, claimed Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) officials.

The former minister is facing a probe for allegedly possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Kangar was stopped by immigration officials at the airport as a look-out circular (LOC) has been issued against him by the VB.

A senior VB official said despite being summoned a number of times, Kangar did not appear before the bureau. As such, an LOC was issued against him.

“On June 11, around 9 pm, Kangar was stopped from boarding a flight to Montreal in Canada from IGI Airport, New Delhi, as he is an LOC subject and not allowed to travel abroad. He was headed to Edmonton. He has, however, not been arrested,” the official added.

Denying VB claims, Kangar said he never entered the airport. “I did not hide anything. I informed VB about my visit in advance. I need to visit Canada to attend the marriage of my nephew on June 12. I sent an email to the VB SSP on June 9, sharing details of my visit with the return schedule. However, there was no response to my e-mail. On Sunday, I found out that an LOC has been issued against me, so I cancelled my plan and returned back,” he added.

Citing health issues following his knee replacement surgery, Kangar did not appear before VB on May 31. People familiar with the matter said Kangar had sought 10 days from VB on health grounds, but he had yet to appear before the bureau.

VB SSP Harpal Singh said the investigation against Kangar was ongoing and he had been asked to submit documents related to the properties.

Kangar is a three-time Congress legislator from Rampura Phul in Bathinda district. After losing the assembly elections in 2022, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in June last year and was appointed the party’s state general secretary.