Punjab's ex-forest minister Dharamsot held on graft charges; Congress terms it 'vendetta'
The Hindu
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring termed the arrest "political vendetta"
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau arrested former State minister and Congress leader Sadhu Singh Dharamsot on corruption charges in the early hours of Tuesday, official sources said.
Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring termed the arrest "political vendetta" and asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to let the law take its course and not resort to "kangaroo court justice".
The social welfare and forest minister in the previous Congress government was arrested from Amloh. A local journalist, who was said to be working as his aide, has also been held in this case, sources said.
Mr. Dharamsot's arrest came just hours ahead of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's visit to Punjab. The former Congress chief visited the house of Sidhu Moosewala in Mansa on Tuesday to express condolences to the slain singer's family.
A few days earlier, district forest officer (DFO) Guramanpreet Singh and contractor Harminder Singh Hummy were arrested in a corruption case.
Both of them are learnt to have provided details of the alleged wrongdoings in the forest department when Mr. Dharamsot was the minister, sources said.
Punjab Vigilance Bureau's Chief Director Varinder Kumar said that during questioning of the DFO and the contractor, it came to the fore that the former minister was allegedly involved in corruption.
Maharashtra's 29 civic bodies, including Mumbai, hold elections with 3.48 crore voters choosing 2,869 corporators amid intense competition.
Congress leader B.V. Rajeev Gowda from Shidlaghatta in Chikkaballapur district allegedly threatened the Municipal Commissioner of the town of setting fire to her office and getting her beaten up, and used abusive language, over a flex and banner that was removed for violating norms.
Police in Vizag seize 650 rolls of banned Chinese manjha amid safety concerns as illegal sales continue ahead of Sankranti.
Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar clarifies Rahul Gandhi's message was simply to continue good work, dismissing any speculation.
Over 51,000 hearings in Ernakulam help reinstate voting rights as part of the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls.
The foundation stone for the construction of Shri Parashurama Swagata Gopura (Welcome Tower) in the northern entry to Udupi city will be laid by Yashpal Suvarna, Udupi MLA and president of Shiroor Mutt Paryaya Swagata Samiti on January 16.
The municipal bus stand auditorium in Malappuram was packed. But nobody quite knew what to expect. After all, a new event was making its debut at the State School Arts Festival. The moment V.G. Harikrishnan started his rendition of Pyar bhare do sharmile nain..., everyone was convinced that Ghazal was here to stay. The student from GVHSS, Atholi (Kozhikode), was applauded loudly for his rendering of the timeless ghazal sung originally by Mehdi Hassan.
Join influential discussions at The Hindu Lit for Life festival in Chennai on January 17-18, 2024.
For the last few weeks, several wards in Madurai city have been getting piped drinking water through a new drinking water scheme. The sweetness of the generously supplied water has led to loss of business to several suppliers of canned drinking water in the city. But, not many know that the water supplied to the houses in Madurai is directly drawn from Lower Dam of Mullaperiyar Dam in Idukki district of Kerala.
A 20-acre farm on the St Xavier’s College campus at Thumba run by State Award-winning farmer S.V. Sujith had visitors from the Iowa State University, U.S., on Tuesday.
NGT issues notices to U.P., M.P., and Rajasthan over sewage contamination in drinking water, citing serious health risks.
Last-minute Pongal shoppers crowd Tiruchi's markets, boosting sales for traders amid rising prices for fruits and festive items.
Confusing coalitions and absent accountability raise voter concerns as Mumbai's civic elections approach amidst air quality neglect.