Punjab firm employee who 'bribed' Himachal health director held

An employee of a Punjab-based firm, who is at the centre of a controversy over a bribe paid to the director of health services in Himachal Pradesh, was arrested on Saturday, police said.

The arrest comes two days after Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said that state BJP president Rajeev Bindal quit on moral grounds as he was close to the employee identified as Prithviraj Singh, a liasioning officer of the Dera Bassi-based firm Bio Aid.

Last month, the vigilance and anti-corruption bureau of Himachal Pradesh arrested director of health services Ajay Kumar Gupta in the corruption case, following which the state government suspended him. He is currently out on bail since May 30.

A 43-second audio recording had surfaced online in which Gupta purportedly asked for a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from Singh, the officials said.

Talking to reporters on Thursday, the chief minister said, "Bindal was close to the other person (Prithvi Singh), so his name was being associated with the alleged scam. That was why he resigned on moral grounds."

After Bindal's resignation on May 27, the health scam took a political turn.

Bindal said he resigned from the post to ensure a proper investigation into the corruption charges against the director.