City centre scam: CM among 37 told to reply on Bains’ plea
LUDHIANA: A local court in Ludhiana on Saturday directed all alleged accused in the Ludhiana City Centre scam, including Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, to file their replies in response to a plea filed by MLA Simarjit Singh Bains. The MLA has argued that he be made a party in the case.
Bains filed his application on September 16 and has challenged the closure report in the case.
He has requested that he be allowed to join the proceedings under Section 173 (8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The vigilance bureau had earlier given a clean chit to the CM in the decade-old ₹1,144 crore Ludhiana City Centre scam.
Taking up the matter, the court issued notice to all 37 people accused in the case and asked them to file their replies.
The next date of hearing is scheduled on October 21.
On August 19, the vigilance bureau had filed a closure report in the case.
It had claimed that the accused did not commit any wrong and that the alleged loss worth crores to state exchequer was “imaginary”.
The case pertains to Captain Amarinder Singh’s previous stint as the chief minister from 2002 to 2007.
ON AUG 19, VIGILANCE BUREAU HAD FILED A CLOSURE REPORT AND CLAIMED THE ACCUSED DID NOT COMMIT ANY WRONG, AND ALLEGED LOSS WAS ‘IMAGINARY’