Chandigarh (IANS). Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday said the government will not pay Rs 55 lakh spent on the comfortable stay of dreaded criminal Mukhtar Ansari in state jails and will recover the money from former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and former Deputy CM Sukhjinder Randhawa. .
In a statement here, the chief minister said it was a serious crime against the state and its people and those involved would have to pay the price.
He said that both Capt Amarinder Singh and Randhawa were well aware of the reasons which gave leniency to the notorious gangster to live comfortably in the jails of Punjab.
Mann said why should the state waste taxpayers’ money like this. Those in power at that time had strong ties with Ansari.
The Chief Minister said that this is open loot of public money, which cannot be tolerated. This notorious criminal was kept in Ropar Jail with complete comfort for reasons best known to the previous governments.
Mann said that apart from ensuring a comfortable stay, the state government also ensured that the hardcore criminal does not face any kind of hardship inside the jail and avoid legal action against him.
The Chief Minister said that it was surprising that the then government spent Rs 55 lakh of taxpayers’ money to protect the interests of this jailed criminal.
He said that this dastardly loot of public money is completely unjustified and undesirable. This open loot of common man’s money cannot be tolerated at any cost.
He said that Capt Amarinder Singh and Randhawa would have to pay this money from their own pocket, otherwise their pension and other benefits would be stopped to recover this money.
