Shimla, Aug. 28 -- Accusing the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) for alleged irregularities in allotting 70 shops in Shimla and Kinnaur, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday staged a walkout. BJP members raised the demand for vigilance or judicial investigation of the matter, while agriculture minister Chander Kumar rejected all the allegations outrightly, stating that the allotment of shops has been done in transparent manner under the prescribed procedure, following which the BJP staged walkout saying they are not satisfied with the answer. The commotion started when during the Question Hour the issue of allotment of shops in APMC, Shimla, and Kinnaur was raised by BJP MLA from Dharamshala, Sudhir Sharma. Replying to query, agriculture minister said applications were invited for 34 shops in Prala, 28 in Shilaru, and eight in Totu, and allotments were made to eligible persons as per norms. "After a detailed inquiry, no irregularities have been found in the allotment, and making vague allegations without proof and specific instances is being done by the opposition merely to make headlines," the minister said. Despite repeated assurances by the agriculture minister that he would look into the allegations if specific instances were given, a dissatisfied Opposition indulged in sloganeering and left the assembly. BJP MLA from Naina Devi, Randhir Sharma, alleged large scale irregularities in the allotment of shops in Shimla and Kinnaur. "The inquiry was a mere eyewash, and the matter was hushed up, and allotments were not cancelled. Applications of only those persons who were to be given shops were kept, while others were rejected. A total of 133 applications for 70 shops had been received," said Sharma. Meanwhile, BJP MLA from Chopal, Balbir Verma said shops that were given at marketing yards Rs.50,000-60,000 rent 10 years back have been given away for a mere Rs.5,000 to Rs.6,000 rent. Condemning the walkout by the BJP, parliamentary affairs minister Harshwardhan Chauhan said the shops were given out at prices higher than the fixed base price of Rs.4,500. "If somebody does not qualify the eligibility criteria, how can shops be given? You cannot make vague allegations of irregularities, so you must provide specific instances," he said. He said that during the previous BJP government, land was sold at throw away prices. Chauhan said that during the BJP regime, HPMC land was sold at a throwaway price and a Rs.3 crore cardboard factory at Gumma was sold for a mere Rs.90 lakh. While talking to media, Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur alleged, "APMC's shop allotment process is marred with corruption. When we raised the matter in the House, instead of ordering an inquiry, the minister started justifying the allotments. Shops at low rents have been given to favourites, ignoring others." A SIT has been constituted, to trace the 4-year-old who is missing while her mother was found murdered, informed deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri on Wednesday in the House in response to the issue raised by Congress MLA Anuradha Rana from Lahaul Spiti. Agnihotri said a written complaint was received from Prem Singh, resident of village Mahsuna, district Lahaul-Spiti and case registered on August 16. The complainant had said that told the police that his 28-year-old wife had taken their 4-yr-old daughter to Kullu hospital for treatment. On August 5, he had last talked to his wife who told him that she is in Manali with their daughter but he was not able to contact her after that. On August 13, he lodged a missing complaint of his wife and daughter. On August 14, he was informed that the body of an unknown woman had been found on the roadside in Kiratpur in Punjab who was later identified as his wife. Police suspect that some unknown person murdered her and dumped the body in Kiratpur while their daughter was nowhere to be found. In his statement Agnihotri said that the police suspect the involvement of a J&K man, who had been living in Lahaul-Spiti and has since gone missing. Agnihotri informed that two separate FIRs-one in Himachal for the missing child and another in Punjab for the murder and are under investigation....