PNS/
 
Probing a disproportionate assets case against a bureaucrat-turned-politician Kuldeep Singh Vaid, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Monday raided his residence in Ludhiana.
 
Apart from his residence, the VB team from Chandigarh also checked a nearby cafe, which is believed to be run by Vaid’s son. It has been learnt that the VB may also soon launch raids at Vaid’s other properties.
 
A VB official said that the raids were part of the probe against him for acquiring properties and assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
 
Vaid is the latest among several Punjab Congress leaders coming under the VB scanner, with already Congress’ three former Ministers — Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, and Sham Sunder Arora — behind bars in corruption cases.
 
Action against Vaid comes days after the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the Leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha Partap Singh Bajwa locked into a row during the budget session over VB action against the Congress leaders. While Mann lashed out at the Congress for shielding the corrupt by criticizing the VB action against tainted leaders, Bajwa accused of vendetta.
 
Mann had said that his government had adopted a zero-tolerance policy against corruption and exemplary action will be ensured against the erring leaders. Pointing fingers at the opposition benches, Mann had stated that the tainted leaders are sitting on these seats, and they too will have to pay for their sins very soon as action against them was inevitable.
 
Hitting out, Bajwa had stated that AAP Government could not be selective and vindictive only against the opposition leaders on allegations of corruption, while pointing out that Dr Vijay Singla, Fauja Singh Sarari and Amit Rattan continue to enjoy AAP patronage.
 
Former minister Brahm Mohindra, who was second to Captain Amarinder Singh in the Punjab cabinet, in 2017 was the sixth Congress Minister under the VB scanner for having disproportionate assets. The VB has arrested Sadhu Singh Dharamsot in a similar case, while former ministers Sham Sunder Arora, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Gurpreet Singh Kangar, Bharat Bhushan Ashu and at least five other Congress leaders are under VB scrutiny for amassing illegal properties.
 
A 1992-batch Punjab Civil Service (PCS) officer, who was upgraded to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 2007, Vaid was Moga Deputy Commissioner and Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority additional chief administrator during service. He won the 2017 assembly election from Ludhiana’s Gill constituency on the Congress ticket.