Sukhpal Khaira alleges benami land deals by Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, writes to Governor

Jalandhar, June 18

Seeking an inquiry by the CBI or ED into the alleged benami properties of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his family, Congress leader Sukhpal Khaira has written to Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit calling for his intervention on the matter.

The Bholath MLA, who had recently contested unsuccessfully from the Sangrur LS seat, has alleged that CM Mann and his family members were indulging in ‘benami’ financial transactions related to land dealings, causing losses to the public exchequer, which needs to be investigated. He has cited two cases attaching documents with both.

In the first case, he has said a registered deed was carried out by Mann’s paternal aunt Jasmail Kaur in favour of his mother Harpal Kaur in Bhikhi sub-tehsil of Mansa on March 20, 2023. “As per the sale deed, Jasmail transferred land measuring 36 kanal and 3 marla (approx. 4.5 acres) in favour of Harpal Kaur free of cost (hiba), the collector rate of which is Rs 67.7 lakh. The transferred land falls in the revenue area of Dhapie village and is located on the Mansa-Bathinda road, the market value of which is approximately 70 lakh per acre (totaling Rs 3 crore for 4.5 acres),” he has pointed out.

Khaira has raised a question: “Why would Jasmail Kaur gift such a costly land worth Rs 3 crore free of cost to Harpal Kaur? On further probe, it was established that the land was actually purchased by Bhagwant Mann many years ago ‘benami’ in the name of Jasmail Kaur. We can understand that a family makes a gift to their daughters but this is a reverse case where a ‘nanad’ (sister-in-law) is gifting land to her ‘bhabhi’. It is common knowledge in the area that the rent of the agricultural land has been going to Bhagwant Mann ever since its purchase because it actually belonged to him. Hence, Mann has tried to misuse his position by legitimising a ‘benami’ transaction of the past in the name of his mother through gift deed (hiba).”

Khaira has alleged another ‘benami’ deal by Gurjit Singh of Fatehgarh Khokhar village in Sangrur, who is the first cousin of Bhagwant Mann also from paternal side, who had purchased approximately 38.12 kanal (roughly 5 acres) in Mann’s native Satauj village of Sunam in Sangrur.

“Why would Gurjit Singh who hails from a much far away village buy land in the native village of Bhagwant Mann? It is also common knowledge that the land contractor, who also hails from Satauj, is paying the rent of this land to Harpal Kaur. So by virtue of chronology, this transaction is also ‘benami’ in nature and the land purchased by Gurjit Singh actually belongs to the CM Bhagwant Mann and his family,” he has alleged.

The Tribune in Chandigarh tried to contact the CM for his version. Even the CMO staff and the AAP spokespersons declined to comment on the issue.