On Thursday morning, Punjab Vigilance Department and Punjab Police who were jointly searching for Former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, caught his doppelganger instead of him.
All efforts of the Punjab Police went in vain when they got to know that the person whom they have caught is not Manpreet Badal but a person named Basant Singh, who is the sarpanch of a village in Bathinda. The team had got information that Manpreet Badal is expected to be in Bathinda village, Gurusar on the next day. The police raided on the basis of this information and stopped the car, however, it was the doppelganger of Badal, and the team had to return empty-handed.
Previously, Punjab Vigilance teams raided several locations in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan in search of Badal, who is accused of corruption in the purchase of two plots in Model Town phase-1, Bathinda.
Before this a lookout circular was issued by the court against Manpreet Badal. Police fear that the finance minister of the previous Congress government who has since joined the BJP, could have fled abroad.
The VB team reached Shimla and searched locations in the town and its surroundings. It gathered documents related to land owned by Manpreet Badal’s relatives. The search began at Khallini after which it was expanded to Chail, Koti, Fagu, and Dil Shant Estate, Bharari. The VB examined records related to properties owned by people from Punjab. Though Badal filed a bail plea on September 26, he withdrew it after the vigilance department registered the FIR against him under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and Section 13 (1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, besides the IT Act.
