Minister Virbhadra Singh, Wife Charged with Corruption
On a complaint based on a CD released in May 2008, Union Steel Minister Virbhandra Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh have been charged with corruption in Himachal Pradesh, said officials.
“Virbhadra Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh were booked Monday night by the state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau under relevant sections of the IPC (Indian Penal Code),” Inspector General of Police (Vigilance) S R Mardi said.
They were booked on the ground of an audio CD which Virbhadra Singh’s political adversary Vijay Singh Mankotia released last year, added Mardi.
The CD revealed Virbhadra Singh talking about some financial transactions on phone with former IAS officer Mahinder Lal, who is dead. Besides, the CD has recordings of his wife, a former MP from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh.
It may be mentioned that former Congress minister Mankotia, who had demanded the registration of the case against Virbhadra Singh and others, had released the CD before the Hamirpur parliamentary by-election in May 2008.
The police also sent the CD and their voice samples for voice analysis at the Chandigarh-based Central Forensic Science Laboratory.
