Chandigarh: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday pointedly held that the state Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government would not pay ₹55 lakh spent on, what he termed as, "cozy stay" of the criminal Mukhtar Ansari in state jail and would recover this money from former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and his the then deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
For the record, Ansari was lodged in Ropar jail from 2019 to 2021 in an extortion case registered in Mohali before the apex court directed the Punjab government to give custody of the gangster-turned-politician to the Uttar Pradesh police. The supreme court had also noted that Ansari’s custody was being denied to the UP on trivial grounds under the guise of medical issues.
Stating that this was a serious crime against the state and its people, Mann said in a statement issued here that those involved in it would have to pay for it. He further alleged that for reasons best known to them, both Capt Amarinder Singh and Randhawa extended largesse to notorious gangster for his comfortable stay in jails of Punjab. Asking why should the state waste taxpayer’s money in this way, Mann went on to further allege that for reasons best known to the previous regimes this notorious criminal was kept in Ropar jail with full comforts where apart from ensuring comfortable stay the state government also ensured that this criminal also escaped the legal action against him.
'Pay from your pockets or else...': Mann warns Singh and Randhwa
Stating that it was surprising that the then government spent ₹55 lakh of taxpayers’ money to safeguard the interests of a criminal, Mann held that Capt Amarinder Singh and Randhwa would have to pay this money from their pocket else their pension and other benefits would be stopped to recover it and everyone involved in, what he alleged, crime would be made accountable for the same.
It may also be recalled that Mann had assailed the previous Congress government on the issue in past too and had also refused to bear ₹55 lakh as fees of, what he termed as "expensive lawyers" to defend Ansari.
However, reacting to Mann’s charges, former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh had slammed Mann asking him to understand the system before making any statement.
