PremiumThe Punjab Civil Services Officers Association announced a 5-day casual leave from 9 January in protest against the arrest of a PCS officer Narinder Singh Dhaliwal. Dhaliwal was posted in Ludhiana and was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau on the charges of collecting money as a bribe from the local transporters.
In a statement, the association alleged that the officer was arrested wrongfully and arbitrarily without following the due procedure. The arrest of the officer came on a mere complaint by a private individual, the association said.
Around 80 civil services officers from Punjab, including senior members of the association, attended a meeting on 8 January to discuss the unfortunate turn of events.
Vigilance Bureau informed about a complaint on the Chief Minister's anti-corruption helpline in November, where it was alleged that the officer who was serving in the capacity of Regional Transport Officer collected money as bribe from transporters in lieu of not issuing challans.
The complainant Satnam Singh Dhawan also submitted an online complaint with a video of Punjab Home Guards volunteer, who was working under Dhaliwal.
The agency also added that in December 2022, Dhaliwal received a bribe of ₹4 lakh, and the officer kept 1,70,000 for himself and gave the rest to the Home Guard volunteer.
The Punjab Civil Services Association also quoted the law in the matter and pointed out that under section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, no police officer shall conduct inquiry or inquiry or investigation into any offense alleged to have been committed by a public servant under this Act, where the alleged offense is relatable to any decision taken by such public servant in discharge of his official function or duties without the previous approval of the competent authority who is the Chief Secretary in this case.