Sadhu Singh Dharamsot: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in April had warned action against him (File)
Senior Congress leader and former Punjab minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot was arrested early this morning on corruption charges, officials said.
The Social Welfare and Forest Minister in the Amarinder Singh government was arrested by the state's Vigilance Bureau from Amloh.
This comes days after the arrest of district forest officer Guramanpreet Singh and contractor Harminder Singh Hummy, who reportedly provided details of the alleged wrongdoings in the forest department when Mr Dharamsot was the minister.
In April, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had warned action against the former minister.
Punjab Vigilance Bureau's Chief Director Varinder Kumar said that during questioning of the district forest officer and the contractor, it came to the fore that the former minister was allegedly involved in corruption.
An investigation has revealed that Mr Dharamsot used to be given Rs 500 for the felling of each tree, Mr Kumar claimed, adding that over the time, around Rs 1.25 crore was given to him.
The former minister allegedly used to take money for transfers and postings of officials of his department and even for giving no-objection certificates, the chief director alleged.
A case under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered, Mr Kumar said.
Meanwhile, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring termed the arrest "political vendetta".
"Mann sahib, as expected, you want to deflect the main issues of lawlessness, unemployment and interference of (AAP national convener Arvind) Kejriwal and others in Punjab by arresting Sadhu Singh Dharamsot. Let the law take its own course. Please do not make it kangaroo court justice. Political vendetta shall boomerang," he tweeted.
The bureau has also arrested a local journalist, Kamaljit Singh, who sources say, is a close associate of the Congress leader.
Last month, Punjab Health Minister Vijay Singla was sacked from the state cabinet on a corruption charge, with Mr Mann asserting that his government has "zero tolerance" against corruption.
Mr Singla was allegedly demanding a one per cent commission on tenders. Soon after his removal, he was arrested by the anti-corruption branch of the Punjab police.
Eradication of corruption was one of the key promises of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The party had bagged 92 of the 117 seats in Punjab, decimating the Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party combine, and the BJP-Punjab Lok Congress-SAD (Sanyukt) alliance in the 2022 state assembly polls.