Punjab Vigilance Bureau begins evaluating ex-Dy CM OP Soni's assets

Tribune News Service

PK Jaiswar

Amritsar, January 30

The Vigilance Bureau has started evaluating the properties of former Deputy Chief Minister and senior Congress leader OP Soni in connection with a complaint of disproportionate assets against him in November last year.

A technical team of the VB reached his under-construction farmhouse located on the Airport Road and his hotel here on Monday. The evaluation continued till the evening and the VB officials said the exercise would be carried out in the coming days too.

1,300% jump in 15 years

• Soni’s assets witnessed over 1,300% jump between 2007 and 2022
• His assets rose from Rs 1.93 crore in 2007 to Rs 27.98 crore in 2022
• A Vigilance team received a complaint against him in November 2022

Senior Superintendent of Police (Vigilance) Varinder Singh, who is supervising the investigation into the case, said the eight-member probe team also comprised PWD officials from Chandigarh.

The Punjab Government had received a complaint alleging that the former Deputy Chief Minister had accumulated movable and immovable assets beyond his known sources of income. “The Vigilance has acquired details of movable and immovable properties of OP Soni and his family members. We have started evaluating these and the process will take some days,” said Singh.

Vigilance sources said that as per the documents submitted by the Congress leader during nomination for the Assembly elections, his assets had witnessed a major jump over the past decade and a half.

During the 2007 Assembly elections, Soni had declared assets worth Rs 1.93 crore, including Rs 28.35 lakh movable and Rs 1.65 crore immovable. In the 2022 Assembly poll, he showed assets worth Rs 27.98 crore (Rs 1.75 crore movable and Rs 26.23 crore mmovable).

The Congress leader’s assets jumped over 1,300 per cent in 15 years.

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