With a local court returning the Vigilance Bureau’s (VB) cancellation report in the Amritsar Improvement Trust land scam, in which Captain Amarinder Singh is among the accused, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday demanded the handing over the case to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the resignation of the CM for free and fair probe into the matter.
Addressing a Press conference, leader of Opposition and AAP legislator, Sukhpal Singh Khaira said fair probe was not possible in the case as the CM is an accused in it.
” A free and fair trial is now highly impossible if Capt Amarinder Singh continues to be the chief- minister-cum-home-minister controlling the prosecution as well as the VB of the state. So for the fair probe, their CM should either hand over the case to CBI for trail outside Punjab or resign as the CM,” he said.
The AAP leader said the rejection of Vigilance Bureau’s cancellation report in the Amritsar Improvement trust land scam case involving Capt Amarinder calls for impartial, transparent and fair trial.
He said while rejecting the cancellation report filed by VB, the Mohali court on 24th August held that the said report was based on ‘surmises and conjectures’.
“In other words the judge has clearly indicated that it is befitting case of corruption which needs further investigation. This is clear prima-facia indict of Capt. Amrinder Singh on corruption charges, by the court of law,” Khaira said.
The AAP leader said then government led by CM Parkash Singh Badal got Capt Amarinder expelled as legislator on the basis of an Assembly committee report, indicting him in the infamous Amritsar Trust scam.
Khaira said that few years later, it was the same Badal controlled VB that filed the said cancellation report on 4 October 2016, giving Capt Amarinder a clean chit.
“It only goes to show that the Badals then and Amarinder Singh now are misusing the criminal justice system of Punjab to arm twist each other and then settle matters behind the curtains,” he said.
Khaira said, therefore, keeping in view of dubious track record of the prosecution machinery and the VB particularly with Captain Amarinder being CM, there is no chance for a fair and judicious trial in either the Amritsar Improvement Trust scam.