Capt aide attacks Tarn Taran leader over drugs

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 23

Tejpreet Singh ‘Peter Sandhu’, former Punjab Infotech chairman and All-India Jat Mahasabha senior vice-president, has asked the Congress high command to shunt out leaders with shady background.

Amritsar MP Capt Amarinder Singh is the president of the Jat Mahasabha. Sandhu was expelled from the Congress for six years after the Punjab Assembly elections in 2012. He was taken to task over alleged anti-party activities.

Addressing a press conference here today, Sandhu accused Tarn Taran unit Congress chief Sukhpal Singh Bhullar of patronising drug smugglers. Sukhpal is the son of former MLA Gurchet Singh Bhullar.

The Tarn Taran police had on January 15 registered a case against Dharamvir Singh of Mari Udoke village, who is Bhullar’s associate, after allegedly recovering 260 gm of heroin from him.

Sandhu said, “Dharamvir is close to the Bhullars and had even contested the Block Samiti elections on the Congress ticket.... Being the constituency in charge, Gurchet Singh had distributed the ticket.”

He claimed he had raised thrice with PPCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa (through letters) the “proximity” of the Bhullars with drug smugglers .

“It is Bajwa who had appointed Sukhpal as the district chief even as his father Gurchet had lost the Assembly poll by a huge margin,” said Sandhu, asking the PPCCchief to explain “what compulsion he had in appointing, and then continuing, Bhullar on the post”.

About his expulsion, Sandhu said, “I was expelled because I had got a case under Section 420 of the IPC registered against Sukhpal for faking his age-related documents to contest the Youth Congress elections.... I have always remained a Congressman. I have also been invited for the ‘Lalkar rally’.”

On being contacted, Sukhpal said, “Dharamvir was implicated in a false case at the behest of Akali MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha, who has a tendency to target Congress leaders. Peter is a puppet in the hands of Valtoha and he is trying to tarnish the image of my family due to vested interests.”