AMRITSAR: Taking cognizance of an HT report on the alleged abuse of power in the auctioning of fancy vehicle registration numbers by Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Amarpal Singh Bonni at his hometown Ajnala, Transport Minister Master Mohan Lal has ordered an inquiry.
The Minister said he had asked state Transport Commissioner R. Venkatraman to inquire into the matter and send him the report at the earliest.
Master Mohan Lal said he would not hesitate to cancel the auction if the allegations were found to be true. He said he taken the HT report on the issue seriously.
“Prima facie allegations seem to be true as nowhere else in Punjab has the auctioning of fancy vehicle number registration found such a poor response,” he said.
As reported in these columns on March 5, Bonni had allegedly manipulated the auctioning process by retaining the most lucrative 0001 for him by paying just Rs 3,000 above the reserved price of Rs50, 000.
He had allegedly obliged his supporters in enabling them to get the remaining fancy numbers by paying token money more then the reserved price.
Two bidders from Patiala Kuljit Singh Aulakh and Bagh Signh Pannu had alleged that they were threatened by the MLA.
SOURCE-HT
