Ludhiana Congress leader Bharat Bhushan Ashu gets interim bail

In a significant relief to Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee’s working president and Congress candidate from the Ludhiana (West) Assembly segment, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, a Ludhiana court on Friday granted him interim anticipatory bail in a Vigilance case involving alleged land fraud.

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Ashu was summoned by the Vigilance Bureau to appear in the above matter. Meanwhile, SSP (Vigilance) JagatPreet Singh was suspended by the Punjab Government for issuing summons to Ashu.

The order was passed by Additional Sessions Judge Jaspinder Singh, who directed Ashu to cooperate with the investigation and appear before the Investigating Officer as and when called. The court further ordered that in the event of his arrest, he be released on interim bail by the Investigating Officer.

The FIR, registered on January 8, 2025, at the Division No. 5 police station, Ludhiana, was lodged on the complaint of the Executive Officer of the Improvement Trust. The complaint alleged irregularities in the allotment and sale of 4.7 acres of land to the Management Committee of New Higher Secondary School, Sarabha Nagar. It was claimed that the land, originally allotted at controlled rates for educational purposes, was later misused for commercial activities, including the running of three different schools and nine shops.

Initially registered under Sections 420 and 120-B IPC, the case later attracted more serious charges under Sections 467, 468, 471 and 409 of the IPC. While Ashu was not named in the original FIR, his name was subsequently added in it following inquiry.

Ashu’s counsel Vijay Mahendru argued that his client had been falsely implicated due to political motivations, particularly since he was contesting the upcoming Assembly elections from the Ludhiana (West) constituency.

The matter is now listed for further proceedings on June 11.