Jalandhar MP, son trying to grab our business, allege truckers

JALANDHAR: The Doaba Truck Operators Society Phillaur has alleged that Jalandhar Congress MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh and his son Vikramjit Chaudhary have grabbed their business in the area by hiring a transporter from outside and getting him employed for work in the sub-division.

Vikramjeet Chaudhary denies charges

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 12

The Doaba Truck Operators Society Phillaur has alleged that Jalandhar Congress MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh and his son Vikramjit Chaudhary have grabbed their business in the area by hiring a transporter from outside and getting him employed for work in the sub-division.

Ranjit Singh Lasara, who leads the society, has alleged that even the bureaucracy and the police were helping them grab their business since they had refused to pay up ‘gunda tax’ sought by them. “We were doing the logistics business for a factory manufacturing items for Parle G at Bachowal village in Phillaur till recently. But the MP’s son and self-styled halqa in charge Vikramjit started demanding his share in the trade.”

“They also pressurised the management to cancel the contract of the society and register the new logistics vendor of the choice of Jalandhar MP and his son. They even got registered a false and fabricated criminal FIR against the members of the Doaba Truck Society. Further, the local police even trespassed the manufacturing unit with a convoy of five to 10 trucks of MP’s choice to load these,” the society members alleged.

While the Jalandhar MP could not be contacted, his son Vikramjit gave his side of the story terming Ranjit’s allegations as false and baseless. “I have nothing to do with transport societies in my area as the truck unions stand scrapped by the Punjab Government. But Ranjit Singh was adamant on forcefully capturing business in the area.”

Claiming that the entire story narrated by Ranjit to media was the other way round, Vikramjit said, “Parle-G has Goyal Road Carriers as their official transporters at all its factories. Ranjit Singh did not allow Goyal to work here. When Goyal wanted to enter the premises of the factory, Ranjit and his men beat them up and even threatened them after which an FIR was lodged against them,” he alleged.