Bizmen hail VB action, ask it to make public names of more corrupt officials

Ludhiana: Punjab Vigilance Bureau’s (VB) crackdown against the corrupt officials of the state excise and taxation department under which two FIRs were registered against 12 officers is being hailed by the Ludhiana businessmen. They are of the view that the tax evasion-cum-bribe nexus had been running in Ludhiana district for several years now and this is perhaps the biggest action in decades.
Businessmen are now urging the VB to make public names of all officers involved in this unholy nexus as till date 12 officers have been named while the department has proof against several others. In another demand they have urged the chief minister to introduce a policy wherein officers of the state excise and taxation departments should not be allowed to serve in the same city for more than two years.
Speaking on the issue, Narinder Bhamra, president of the Fasteners Manufacturers Association of India, said, “The VB should be awarded for carrying out such a big operation and nailing the corrupt officers with evidence. As of now, close to 12 officers who were part of this gang have been named and booked by the VB, but there are more officials against whom it has ample evidence. So, it is our request to the ADGP of VB, BK Uppal, to make public names of all these corrupt officers as well and book them at the earliest.”
He further said, “Genuine businessmen face so many problems these days to carry on with their businesses and pay taxes honestly to the government, but on the other hand these handful officials of the state excise and taxation departments are hell bent on robbing the government of taxes worth crores every month without hesitation. All accused in this case should be given exemplary punishment so that no one else in the department dares to repeat the misdeeds being done by them. Moreover, a policy should also be drafted, wherein any official regardless of his rank should not be allowed to stay in same district for more than two years”
According to Raj Kumar Singla, president of Fastener Supplier Association, Ludhiana, “This is such big case that the CBI should also be roped in to pinpoint the quantum of loss caused by these officials and the conmen to the government. Ludhiana and Mandi Gobindgarh have went on to become the biggest hub of such malpractices, including illegal passing of goods laden trucks, bogus billing and tax evasion and the VB action has proved that the government is serious about taking action against criminals fleecing the exchequer.”
He added, “However, the motive of the government cannot be fully achieved until a new transfer policy is introduced under which any official should not be allowed to serve in same range or district for more than two years at one go. Because it is often seen that the officers and staff which stays at one place for very long time get more vulnerable to indulging in such malpractices.”
Box – Role of unnamed officials under scanner
In FIR no. 8, registered by the VB on August 21 under various sections of the IPC against eight identified persons and several others, there is mention of recordings of the calls of some private persons intercepted by the VB. In these calls on different occasions these persons are heard discussing about the bribes paid to several officials of the state excise and taxation department. In these calls some officials have been named, along with the bribe they were being paid, while in some conversations only designations with names have been mentioned like “Rs 50,000 to AETC madam, Rs 30,000 to inspectors, Rs 2 lakh to some director”. According to sources, the VB is in the process of identifying all unnamed and action against them is likely soon.