The ignominious exit of Singla

Before sacking Singla, Mann called the health minister to CMO and confronted him with the audio clip in the morning

CHANDIGARH: A dramatic turn of events was witnessed early in the morning at the Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s residence in Sector 2, Chandigarh, just before the sacking and arrest of health minister Dr Vijay Singla.

According to officers privy to the development, the audio clip in which the complainant — superintending engineer Rajinder Singh — recorded his conversation about handing over ₹5 lakh to the minister and his officer on special duty (OSD) Pardeep Kumar had reached the CM on Monday evening, after the official raised the issue with his seniors in the Punjab Health System Corporation (PHSC).

Without giving any signal about his plans, Mann summoned the health minister to the chief minister’s office (CMO) and personally confronted him with the audio clip, specifically asking him if the conversation about demanding the money relates to him. The minister reportedly admitted that it was his voice.

The issue was then discussed with the party high command, after which it was decided to sack Singla from the cabinet and register an FIR against him in Mohali, said sources. Everything was over by 11:38 am.

Sources in the police said that the minister was arrested by a Mohali team, which was specifically called for the purpose, as soon as he came out of the CM’s residence. In the FIR, Singla has been repeatedly mentioned as the health minister, Punjab.

‘Already on CM’s hit list’

Insiders in the CMO revealed that the health minister was already on the CM’s hit list, as some other complaints about corruption in the department were also being received from different quarters.

The controversial style of functioning by the minister’s OSD, who is his relative, and the free hand given to him had already become a talking point in the department.

An official privy with the development said that after receiving the complaint, the CM had deputed some officers to analyse the purchase of medicines and other equipment during Singla’s tenure. A few cases of favouritism, too, came to the fore.

Meanwhile, after Singla’s arrest, the CM summoned his council of ministers one by one and ordered the removal of their relatives from personal staff. Mann is said to have categorically told the ministers that he is personally supervising their every act in their respective ministries.

In fact, the health minister had called a meeting of the department at 11 am and the officials were waiting for him to arrive when they got the news about his sacking and subsequent arrest as it went viral on TV channels.