Congress leader Sadhu Singh Dharamsot arrested by Punjab Vigilance Bureau in corruption case
Highlights
- Sadhu Singh Dharamsot used to be cabinet minister during Congress rule in Punjab.
- He has been arrested by Punjab Vigilance Bureau in a corruption case.
- During his tenure as forest minister, Dharamsot allegedly took bribe in exchange for felling trees.
Former Punjab minister and Congress leader Sadhu Singh Dharamsot was arrested by the state Vigilance Bureau (VB) in the wee hours today in a corruption case. Dharamsot was arrested from Amloh in Fatehgarh Sahib district around 3 am. He served as the Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change in the Amarinder Singh government.
During his tenure as forest minister, Dharamsot took bribes in exchange for felling trees, according to the VB. The agency had last week arrested the Mohali District Forest Office ((DFO) over graft charges. During questioning, the DFO said that before any tree was cut, Dharamsot was bribed.
What did Mohali DFO reveal?
The Mohali DFO was one of the forest officials nabbed by the Vigilance Bureau on charges of bribery. During interrogation, he revealed that Dharamsot used to take a bribe of Rs 500 for cutting each tree. Apart from this, bribes were also taken for planting new trees, a part of which went directly to then minister Dharamsot. Based on this inquiry, Dharamsot was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau.
Dharamsot was the Forest Minister when Captain Amarinder Singh was CM of Punjab. However, when Amarinder was removed, Dharamsot was also relieved from the post of minister.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led Mann government recently sacked its health minister Dr. Vijay Singla in a corruption case.
