Post expulsion, former Punjab CM leaves for London

TOUGH TIME: Amarinder Singh faces trial on corruption charges at the Ludhiana court.

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Chandigarh: A day after his expulsion from the Punjab Assembly, former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh left for London on Thursday night.

A Ludhiana court gave him permission to do so on medical grounds. Amarinder Singh faces trial on corruption charges at the Ludhiana court. Fearing arrest, he had filed an application seeking legal permission to go to London.

Earlier The Punjab Assembly had expelled Amarinder on the basis of the committee's report, holding him and the others guilty of causing a loss of Rs 60 crore to the Amritsar Improvement Trust by allowing a private company to acquire 32.10 acres of the Trust's land.

Singh had moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court to quash the expulsion process against him. His counsel Uday Salil said the house could take such a decision only in case of breach of privilege of the house, contempt of house or improper functioning as a member of the Assembly.

Furthermore, he said, the house had held his client guilty without proper investigation.

The Vigilance Bureau has also registered an FIR against him in a land scam in Amritsar.A Vigilance Bureau officer said it had received a reference from the Assembly on Thursday, through the chief secretary, and the case was registered in Mohali.

This is the third FIR registered by the Bureau against Amarinder since the SAD-BJP came to power. The earlier ones were in connection with the Ludhiana City Centre scam and a disproportionate assets case.

Reacting to the developments, CM Parkash Singh Badal rubbished allegations that his government was indulging in "political vendetta".