Punjab: SIT to look into bribery allegations against MLA Bharaj, says Arora

A special investigation team (SIT) comprising three members has been constituted to probe the bribery allegations against Sangrur AAP MLA Narinder Kaur Bharaj, said cabinet minister Aman Arora on Sunday.

A man had recently gone live on social media accusing her of taking ₹30 lakh as bribe on the pretext of making him the president of the Bhawanigarh Truck Union. Later, the MLA had lodged a complaint against the man, calling for an income tax investigation.

Minister Arora, who was in Bahadurpur village of Sangrur district to inaugurate a sewa kendra, assured of strict action against anyone found guilty. He said an FIR would be registered only after completion of the investigation. Arora clarified that it was customary to register an FIR only after investigation.

Harpal Singh Cheema had on Friday said that had the MLA been guilty, she wouldn’t have come forward to lodge a complaint.

When contacted, MLA Narinder Kaur Bharaj said she would wait for the investigation. “If justice is not delivered, I will approach the high court,” she said, adding that she had come to know from her party workers that the man who had levelled allegations against her and attempted suicide had been discharged from a hospital.

The controversy began on February 27 when the man from Phagguwala village accused MLA Bharaj of reneging on a promise to secure him the post of Bhawanigarh Truck Union president after he allegedly paid ₹30 lakh as “bribe”.

The man, who attempted to take his own life, had shared a video on social media claiming that the money was handed over to MLA Bharaj’s assistant Gurpreet Singh. He had further claimed that the post was awarded to another individual, who allegedly paid ₹55 lakh to the MLA.

The MLA has firmly denied the allegations. She clarified that Gurpreet Singh no longer works for her. “I have only one personal assistant — Gurwinder Singh Chatha,” Bharaj had asserted.

Revamped sewa kendras launched

Arora inaugurated revamped sewa kendras in Nagra and Bahadurpur villages in the Sunam assembly constituency, enhancing access to 438 government services. “Residents no longer need to visit district or tehsil-level offices. They can now avail around 438 services directly through the sewa kendras at their doorsteps. Punjab is also the first state in the country to launch an online certificate facility under which individuals will receive applied certificates via a QR code on their mobile phones,” he said, adding that the government is also digitising the work related to sarpanch and numbardar.