Punjab Minister Resigns After Embezzlement Controversy

Chandigarh: Punjab's Scheduled Castes/Backward Classes Welfare Minister Gulzar Singh Ranike resigned from his post Sunday following recent allegations of embezzlement of grants from his discretionary funds as minister.

Ranike, who also holds charge of animal husbandry, fisheries, and dairy development portfolios, submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal here. Badal forwarded the resignation to Governor Shivraj Patil for acceptance.

A spokesman of the chief minister's office said that Ranike "personally met Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in view of recent media reports regarding the case registered against his former personal assistant for alleged involvement in the misappropriation of public funds disbursement and voluntarily submitted his resignation on moral grounds this morning".

Ranike's resignation follows the move by the chief minister to hand over the probe into the corruption scam of discretionary funds to the state vigilance bureau.

Ranike's aide, Sarbhdyal Singh, has been accused of opening a number of bank accounts in 2011 in the name of dummy village sarpanches (headmen). He encashed an amount of 1.15 crore through these accounts later.

The aide is on the run ever since the scam was reported by media.

Ranike represents the border assembly seat of Attari. Attari, in Amritsar district, is famous for the land border joint check post on the international border between India and Pakistan.

"Ranike urged the chief minister to accept his resignation immediately to uphold the highest moral ethics in politics as well to maintain the dignity of the office held by him so as to enable the ongoing enquiry by the vigilance bureau to proceed in a free, transparent and impartial manner without casting any aspersions," the spokesman said.

Ranike is the third minister in the Badal government, which came back to power for a second consecutive term March this year, to be forced to resign from his post.

Agriculture Minister Tota Singh was forced to resign May this year after being found guilty by a vigilance court in Mohali town, 10 km from here, in a case of misuse of official machinery. The court had sentenced him to one year's imprisonment and imposed a penalty of 30,000. He was allowed bail by the same court immediately.

The minister was charged with misusing the official car of the Punjab School Education Board and forging the vehicle's log book.

Rural Water Supply and Sanitation and Defence Services Minister, Jagir Kaur, was convicted by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court in Patiala town March this year, forcing her to quit from her post.

She was sentenced to five years' rigorous imprisonment on counts of forcible abortion, wrongful confinement, abduction and criminal conspiracy in the mysterious death of her daughter, Harpreet Kaur, in April 2000.

Jagir Kaur is presently lodged in the Kapurthala jail, 180 km from here.