8 yrs after it identified officials who held PR abroad, Vigilance Bureau seeks to know action taken

This comes after it was found that Rakesh Singla, a deputy director in state’s food and civil supplies department, has fled to Canada where he had obtained permanent resident status several years ago, but did not reveal it to the department. Singla was recently booked by the VB in connection with the alleged irregularities in the tendering process for lifting grains in Ludhiana in which Congress leader and former food and civil supplies minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu was arrested earlier this week.

On August 20, Punjab Food and Civil Supply Minister Lal Singh Kataruchak dismissed from service Singla for hiding his Canada PR status and going abroad without taking ex-India leave.

The VB is now probing how many times Singla visited Canada to keep his PR status intact, sources in the agency said.

The office of chief director, VB, Varinder Kumar in a letter to the office of Principal Secretary (Vigilance) on August 22, while referring to 2014 probe, sought to know “about decisions/action taken by admininstrative departments against 130 officials who during service obtained PR and green card abroad for self employment”.

The office of the Principal Secretary, Vigilance, is administrative authority of the investigating agency.

During its inquiry in 2014, the VB had written to 114 departments, out of which 29 provided the information, 55 replied there was no such case in their department, six did not respond, and 24 provided had “partial information”.

The letter from the office of chief director office, VB, adding that “information be gathered from 114 departments again and a probe report be ensured to be sent to this office.”

In 2014, the VB had found that 130 government employees, including 20 each from Punjab Police and agriculture departments, held permanent residency or green card status. Punjab Mandi Board followed closely with 19 officials. As per the VB report, 10 officials from social security, women and child development; eight from horticulture department; seven from technical education and industrial training; six from excise and taxation department (three assistant excise and taxation commissioners and three excise and taxation officers); five each from director, public instructions (elementary education), animal husbandry (veterinary officers), Co-operative bank’ and 25 from other departments were among the gazetted and non-gazetted officials who had obtained PR or green card while being in service.

VB chief director Kumar said, “The move to identify such government employees was aimed at analyzing the suspected pattern where corrupt officials keep a window open to flee abroad after committing irregularities. Obtaining permanent residency in other country while being in service in Punjab is violation of service rules”.

The senior official said that the fresh exercise would act as deterrent to others. “The exercise would be holistic and information is also being sought about employees who had obtained such status in foreign countries till date.”

Gurinder Singh, an inspector posted in Patiala with PUNSUP, a food-grain procurement agency, was on Thursday dismissed for embezzlement of over 20,000 wheat bags and other stocks worth around Rs 3 crore. Theofficials suspect he might have fled abroad, while being on leave travel concession (LTC).

PUNSUP MD Amrit Kaur Gill told The Indian Express, “We suspect, he might have fled abroad, but we are not sure. We have obtained his Aadhar Card and would check with the passport authorities.”

Gill said there were no details so far if Gurinder had obtained PR status in another country.

Around 20 years ago, Punjab had allowed employees to go for self-employment for five years in other parts of India or abroad without pay, stipulating that on return, their seniority would remain intact. The order was subsequently rolled back.

A government functionary said, “That order was bad as talent from the state had started shifting abroad.”