The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) detained former deputy chief minister OP Soni on Sunday for allegedly amassing assets between 2016 and 2022 that were out of proportion to his known sources of income. Tomorrow, he will be presented in court in Amritsar.
The action coincides with the ongoing anti-corruption drive that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ordered to be launched.
According to a VB spokesperson, OP Soni has been the subject of a FIR under sections 13 (1) (b) and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act at Police Station VB, Amritsar Range. The FIR came after a probe that was mandated on October 10, 2022.
The former deputy chief minister and his family earned Rs 4.52 crore between April 1, 2016, and March 31, 2022, while spending Rs 12.48 crore. According to the official, this expenditure was greater than their known sources of revenue by about 176.08%.
During this time, the defendant, OP Soni, is accused of purchasing property in the names of his son Raghav Soni and wife Suman Soni. The representative said that more inquiries into the incident are still being conducted.
Soni had previously testified before the VB in Amritsar and had joined the inquiry. He had pledged to provide the bureau with all information regarding his moveable and immovable holdings before leaving his office.
An anonymous complaint the bureau received charging Soni with amassing properties outside his known sources of income led to the investigation.
According to earlier reports, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau detained former Congress MLA Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon in May for allegedly amassing “huge wealth” outside of his known sources of income.
The AAP government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, has declared that it has a zero-tolerance stance towards corruption and will take legal action against anyone who violates the law.
The Vigilance Bureau has detained OP Soni, a former Congress minister, four times in connection with a corruption investigation. In the past, vigilance proceedings have been brought against Congress leaders and former Punjab ministers, including Bharat Bhushan Ashu and Sadhu Singh Dharamsot.
Charanjit Singh Channi, a Congress leader and a former chief minister of Punjab, has also made a few appearances before the Vigilance Bureau in connection with a matter involving disproportionate assets during the current AAP administration. The investigation has been dubbed “totally political” by Channi.
Between September 20, 2021, and March 11, 2022, Om Prakash Soni and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa served as the 4th deputy chief ministers of Punjab under the leadership of chief executive Charanjit Singh Channi.
