Plea rejected, faces arrest
MOHALI: A Mohali court dismissed the bail application of Dyal Singh Kolianwali, Akali leader and close aide of former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, in a disproportionate assets case on Thursday.
Kolianwali, who is accused of amassing wealth disproportionate to his income, faces arrest from midnight as a Supreme Court order preventing his custody ends on December 6. Or, the former Punjab Subordinate Service Selection Board (PSSSB) official could surrender before court.
The Supreme Court had granted him seven days to surrender and approach the concerned court. Kolianwali appeared before the court of additional district and sessions Sanjay Agnihotri seeking bail, saying the case was politically motivated. He told the court that the figures mentioned by the vigilance bureau were highly inflated and uncorroborated.
On July 1, the Punjab vigilance bureau had registered the case against Kolianwali for allegedly amassing wealth by misusing his official position during the 10-year rule of the Akali-BJP government between 2007 and 2017. Kolianwali is also former chairman of the Punjab Agro Industries.
The vigilance bureau (VB) found that Kolianwali misused his official position for transfer of employees with the collusion of government officials and then allegedly collected money with the help of “illegal elements”.
The case has been registered under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act at the VB police station at Mohali.
The VB chose the period between 2009 and 2014 for investigation during which Kolianwali was holding key posts. During this period, the accused had allegedly spent Rs 4.1 crore on various moveable and immoveable properties, including other expenditures, which was more than 70% of his actual income. The vigilance bureau found that Kolianwali amassed properties, hotels, agricultural farms in Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.
Kolianwali, a member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) from Lambi, the home constituency of Badal, came in contact with the former CM as a sarpanch of Kolianwali village.
Coming from a humble background, Kolianwali climbed the social and political ladder and became the trusted aide of the Badals. He was also in the race to become the SGPC president three years ago when the Akali dispensation wanted to remove Avtar Singh Makkar from the post. But Kirpal Singh Badungar was chosen over Kolianwali. He also remained an executive member and vice-president of the SGPC.
In April this year, after Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa took over as the Punjab cooperation minister, the department started proceedings to recover Rs 91 lakh that Kolianwali owed to the Punjab Agricultural Development Bank, Malout.
Initially, Kolianwali was reluctant to pay the loan, but when arrest warrants were issued against him, the pending amount was paid.
A SUPREME COURT ORDER PREVENTING CUSTODY OF FORMER CM BADAL’S AIDE ENDS ON FRIDAY MIDNIGHT