Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday unequivocally said that the state government will not pay Rs 55 lakh spent on cozy stay of dreaded criminal Mukhtar Ansari in Jails of state and will recover this money from former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
In a statement issued here today, the Chief Minister said that this was a serious crime against the state and its people adding that those involved in it will have to pay for it. He said that for reasons best known to them both Captain and Randhawa extended largesse to notorious gangster for his comfortable stay in jails of Punjab. Bhagwant Mann said that why should the state waste taxpayer’s money in this way just because those in power at that time had strong bond with Ansari.
The Chief Minister said that this is brazen loot of the public money which cannot be tolerated. He said that for reasons best known to the previous regimes this notorious criminal was kept in Ropar Jail with full comforts. Bhagwant Mann said that apart from ensuring comfortable stay the state government ensured that this hardcore criminal does not face any sort of difficulty within the jail and escapes the legal action against him.
The Chief Minister said that surprisingly the then government spent Rs 55 lakh of tax payers money to safeguard the interests of this criminal lodged in Ropar Jail. Bhagwant Mann said that this atrocious loot of the public money is totally unwarranted and undesirable adding that this open plundering of the common man’s money cannot be tolerated at any cost. He said that Captain and Randhawa will have to pay this money from their own pocket else their pensions and other benefits will be stopped to recover this money adding that everyone involved in this heinous crime will be made accountable for their sin.