Before appearing in court, Kolianwali met aides in Malout

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Malout, December 6

Senior SAD leader Dyal Singh Kolianwali, who appeared in a court in Mohali on Thursday, had on Wednesday met some of his close aides here in Malout town and also went to the SDM office complex for some work related to land records.

Notably, the State Vigilance Bureau had booked him on July 1 for allegedly amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

On November 30, the Supreme Court had rejected his anticipatory bail application and directed him to surrender within a week.

Kolianwali, a close aide of former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, a former member of the Punjab Subordinate Services Selection Board (PSSSB) and former chairman of the Punjab Agro Foodgrain Corporation was earlier evading his arrest.

A sitting SGPC member, he has also remained the SAD’s Muktsar district president during the previous SAD-BJP government.

Notably, vigilance sleuths complying with the orders of a Mohali court have already initiated the process to declare him a proclaimed offender (PO), displayed a notice in this regard on November 13 outside his residence at Kolianwali village in Lambi Assembly segment here and gave him a chance to appear in the court on the next date of hearing.

Some persons, who met Kolianwali on Wednesday, said he had come to the tehsil complex along with some aides for the registration of land. Thereafter, he went to meet a manufacturer of agriculture implements on the Dabwali road.

“He also held a closed door meeting with some of his close aides and chalked out future plans,” said a SAD leader, who also met him on Wednesday.

Kolianwali holds such significance because during the SAD-BJP government, he looked after about 17 villages in Lambi for Badal.

Further, he was always seen sitting beside the Badals at the public prorammes held in Lambi during their regime.