HP BJP MLA arrested in recruitment scam, granted bail

Shimla, Aug 10 (UNI) The Himachal Anti-corruption and Vigilance Bureau today arrested BJP MLA Rajiv Bindal in the Solan Municipal Council (MC) recruitment scam.

The scam took place in 1998, when Bindal was the president of the Council.

He was later produced in the Court of Session Judge P C Sharma and granted bail.

The current president of the Municipal Council, Devinder Thakur, who was then a member of the Solan MC was also arrested and bailed out.

The others arrested in the case included special secretary to the Chief Minister and settlement officer S C Kalsotra and Purshottam Chowdhary, Executive officer Parwanoo Municipal Committee.

Mr Kalsotra was then Additional District Magistrate (ADM) of Solan while Purshottam was Executive Officer of Solan Municipal Committee, police sources said.

According to Vigilance sources, the arrests had been made in the case pertaining to alleged irregularities in recruitment of drivers, keymen and meter readers in the Municipal Council. The irregularities were pointed out in a special audit of the Council and a case under sections 420,468,471 and 120-B of IPC and 13(2) of prevention of corruption act was registered in December last year after preliminary inquiries.

UNI