PMLA case:Former Punjab minister Ashu forced to withdraw bail plea due to lawyers’ goof up

Jalandhar: Former Punjab minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, who was arrested by Enforcement Directorate in a food grain transportation scam, was left red-faced as he had to withdraw his bail petition after his team of lawyers inadvertently impleaded the state of Punjab as the respondent instead of the central agency. He was then sent to 14-day judicial custody.

The matter came to light after the ED officials investigating into the matter raised the issue before the court — the special court (PMLA), Jalandhar — that the central agency was not made party to the bail application filed by Ashu, who was arrested by ED on August 1.

“We have put forward a strong stance before the case that the state of Punjab had nothing to do with our investigation as Ashu was arrested by the central agency in a prevention of money laundering case related to the food grain transportation scam. The state government and its vigilance department has been conducting separate investigation into the alleged misappropriation of funds in the whole scam,” a senior ED official said.

After taking note of the ED’s observation, Ashu withdrew his application through his lawyers and filed a fresh application while impleading the ED as a respondent on Monday.

The hearing on the first bail application was scheduled on Monday but it was dismissed as withdrawn by the court.

“That this is the second bail application under Section 483 of The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) on behalf of the applicant accused, on the present cause of action in the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) case. Previously, the bail application under Section 483 of BNSS was filed. However, inadvertently, instead of Enforcement Directorate, State of Punjab was impleaded as respondent and as such, the said bail application was withdrawn and now, this second bail application under same section is being filed,” the fresh bail application stated.

The additional sessions court here on Monday sent former Punjab food and civil supplies and consumer affairs minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu to judicial custody in connection with an alleged ₹2,000-crore foodgrain transportation-linked money-laundering case. Ashu, who was arrested by the ED on August 1, remained in ED custody for 10 days.

The ED had initiated a parallel probe into the money trail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) registered an FIR on August 16, 2022. In August last year, ED teams seized ₹6 crore and four bank lockers during raids at locations linked to Ashu and other accomplices besides seizing several incriminating documents, digital devices and ₹30 lakh of unaccounted cash from at least 10 locations.

On August 16, 2022, the VB registered a case against Ashu, his personal assistant Pankaj Kumar, alias Menu Malhotra, then food and civil supplies deputy director RK Singla, district food and civil supplies controller Rakesh Bhaskar, besides three contractors— Telu Ram, Yashpal, Ajaypal besides others — for committing the ‘fraud’, causing a huge loss to the state exchequer by allegedly committing irregularities in accepting labour, cartage and transportation tenders for grain markets in Ludhiana district.

An FIR was registered under Sections 420 (cheating), 409 (criminal breach of trust), 467 (forgery of valuable security, etc), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 120B (party to a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence) of the IPC and Sections 7 (2), 8, 12 and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act at the VB police station in Ludhiana.