By IANS,
Patiala (Punjab) : Former Punjab chief minister and senior Congress leader Amarinder Singh was Sunday questioned by state vigilance department officials at his private palace in this Punjab town, 80 km from Chandigarh. The vigilance officials arrived here to question Amarinder Singh about the leasing of nearly 32 acres of prime land in Amritsar city to a private developer.
The former chief minister was quizzed at his Moti Bagh Palace for nearly three hours by the officials. A case under Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against him and others in this land deal.
Vigilance officials later said that Amarinder Singh remained evasive and they were not satisfied with the answers. However, the former chief minister’s lawyer said that the questioning went off smoothly.
The lease was controversially given in 2005 when Singh was the Punjab chief minister. The land was worth millions of rupees in the property market. A Punjab assembly committee, enquiring into the case, had indicted Amarinder Singh in the case.
The former chief minister was expelled from the assembly in 2008 on the basis of the report of the committee but the Supreme Court gave him partial relief by staying the election of his Patiala assembly seat.
Another case was registered by the state vigilance against Amarinder Singh and several others in 2007 in the multi-million Ludhiana City Centre scam. He has been questioned in the case earlier.
The cases have been slapped against Amarinder Singh after the Akali Dal government led by Parkash Singh Badal assumed office in Punjab March 2007.