Last Updated: August 22, 2022, 20:34 IST
Ashu was picked up by the bureau in the evening. (Twitter)
Ashu is the second Congress minister to have been arrested by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in a graft case
On a day when the entire top brass of the Punjab Congress turned up at the Vigilance Bureau office protesting against cases filed against their leaders, former food and supply minister and senior Congress leader Bharat Bhushan Ashu was arrested from Ludhiana in connection with a tender allotment scam.
Ashu becomes the second Congress minister to have been arrested by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in a graft case.
Interestingly, Ashu was also present at the dharna held by his party colleagues, including state unit chief Raja Warring, outside the Mohali-based Vigilance Bureau office on Monday.
He was picked up by the bureau from Ludhiana in the evening.
Earlier, during the dharna, Ashu had claimed he was innocent and alleged that he was being framed in the case.
The Vigilance Bureau had earlier arrested his personal assistant (PA) in connection with the alleged scam in which tenders for labour, cartage and transportation of food grains were allotted preferentially. The bureau had also questioned some contractors and apparently statement of some of them had pointed to Ashu’s involvement in the scam.
The Congress has upped the ante over cases being registered against its leaders by the AAP government and have been protesting for the past few days.
Read the Latest News and Breaking News here