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WILL ENSURE ZERO-TOLRANCE AGAINST CORRUPTION IN MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS AND COUNCILS- BALKAR SINGH

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Chandigarh/Jalandhar, JUNE 1

          Punjab Local Bodies Minister Balkar Singh today asserted that zero-tolerance policy would strictly be followed across all municipal corporations and municipal councils in the state so that a smooth and corruption-free administration could be ensured across all local bodies in Punjab.

          Accompanied by Member Parliament Sushil Kumar Rinku, MLA Raman Arora, Deputy Commissioner Deepshikha Sharma, the minister while addressing a press conference here at local circuit house said that special emphasis would be laid on the availability of basic amenities in the city so that people can avail the benefit of portable drinking water, cleanliness, better road infrastructure, lighting, etc. He said that people of Jalandhar have expressed their faith in Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led state government by making Sushil Kumar Rinku win with thumping majority in Lok Sabha bye-polls; now it is our duty to fulfill the aspirations of people of Jalandhar by making this city one of the leading cities of the state. He also mentioned that a slew of special projects would be launched in Jalandhar to further put development of this city on a high-growth trajectory adding that it would be visible to everybody soon as government is all set to launch major projects for Jalandhar city.

          Earlier, a contingent of Punjab Police accorded guard of honor to Cabinet Minister on his arrival in the city while district administration led by Deputy Commissioner Deepshikha Sharma welcomed the minister at local circuit house.

          Speaking on the occasion, Member Parliament Sushil Kumar Rinku said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led state government has given Jalandhar District ministerial birth in the Punjab Cabinet, which would further give impetus to the development of this city. He congratulated Cabinet Minister Balkar Singh on his induction as minister and expressed hope that he will fulfill the aspirations of people of Jalandhar.

          Prominent amongst others present of the occasion included Chiarperson Punjab State Containor and Wharehousing Corporation Rajwinder Kaur Thiara, Chairman District Planning Board Amritpal Singh, AAP Leaders Surinder Singh Sodhi, Dinesh Dhall, and Mohinder Bhagat.

Chandigarh, Haryana

MCF and Wakf Board officials arrested caught taking Rs 80000 bribe

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 31, 2022

Haryana State Vigilance Bureau has arrested two officials posted in Municipal Corporation Faridabad and Waqf Board, Bhiwani red-handed while accepting bribes worth Rs 50,000 and Rs 30,000 respectively. Both have been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

                    Sharing the information here today, the spokesperson of the Bureau said that in the first case, SVB team has caught Taxation Clerk of MCF Taxation branch Kanhaiya Lal accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000 from the complainant in lieu of reducing the property tax from Rs 26 lakh to Rs 7 lakh. 

                    After the Taxation Clerk sought bribe, the complainant, a resident of Sector 32 Faridabad filed a complaint with the Vigilance Bureau. The SVB acted promptly and conducted a raid and caught the accused official red-handed while accepting the money from the complainant.

                    The spokesperson further said that in another case Nafish Ahmed, Rent Collector, Waqf Board, Bhiwani has been caught red-handed by the Bureau while accepting bribe of Rs 30,000.

                    Complainant, a resident of Loharu in Bhiwani told that accused Rent Collector was demanding bribe to settle a land issue, which was leased to him by the Board. The accused told that the land leased to him has been converted into commercial and now Rs 4.5 lakh has to be deposited in the Waqf Board for a revise map. Accused had already taken Rs 15,000.

                    After the complaint, the Vigilance team laid a trap and arrested the accused Rent Collector taking a bribe of Rs 30,000.

                    A case has been registered against the accused under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Further investigation is underway.

Chandigarh, Haryana

UHBVN Lineman held taking Rs 6500 bribe

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 29, 2022

Haryana State Vigilance Bureau has arrested a lineman of Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs.6500 in lieu of installation of a new electricity meter.

While giving information here today, a spokesperson of the Bureau said that the arrested lineman in the bribery case has been identified as Attar Singh, who is posted in Sonipat district. The accused lineman has been arrested on the complaint of Rajesh, a resident of village Bhadana in Sonipat.

When the accused demanded money in lieu of installation of a meter, the complainant in his complaint addressed to the bureau informed that he works as a labourer and deposited the prescribed fee online for the installation of an electricity meter in his house located in Housing Board, Sector 23, Sonepat. Despite this, the lineman asked for Rs 7000 to get the electricity meter installed. Later the deal was settled at Rs 6500.

The spokesman said that after verifying the facts, a raid was conducted and accused lineman was caught red handed while taking a bribe of Rs 6500.

A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused and further investigation is being done.

Chandigarh, Punjab

Over 210 persons arrested for corruption since AAP forms government in Punjab

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 22, 2022

The Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s war against corruption has met with unprecedented success in only five months since the Aam Admi Party (AAP) government came to power in Punjab.

The Vigilance Bureau has arrested as many as 135 government officials including 25 gazetted officers for accepting illegal gratification, said an official spokesperson.

Some of those who are arrested include top ministers of the AAP and the previous Congress government. A top IAS officer, a IFS officer and over 50 police officials.

From sacking and subsequent arrest of AAP’s health minister Vijay Singla on charges of corruption, the Mann government has also cracked the  whip on big sharks including arresting former Congress minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot in a corruption case, 2008-batch IAS officer Sanjay Popli, who was posted as director pensions and Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Vishal Chauhan and many others. In addition, services of two government officials were terminated by their administrative departments.

As the pace of work in the Anti-Corruption campaign picked up, in the month of July alone, eight government employees were arrested for accepting bribes in five different cases. The accused included two employees of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) and three employees of the Ludhiana Improvement Trust. The Bureau had registered 14 criminal cases in which 20 accused were involved in corruption. In these criminal cases, among others four police personnel, two revenue officials and six employees of Improvement Trust Ludhiana including its former chairman Raman Bala Subramanyam was booked by the VB for further investigations. Subramanyam has been identified as a powerful official under whose supervision the scam took place.

The Vigilance bureau has also nabbed around 80 private individuals. Data revealed that in seven cases, convictions were handed down by various courts in which eight government officials and a private person were involved.

A fresh case has been registered against former Minister of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Bharat Bhushan Ashu on Friday in the scam of allotting transportation tenders on fake registration numbers of vehicles. An enquiry is underway and more officials of the Food and Supplies department are under the scanner.

The  chief minister’s anti-graft helpline is leading the way in exposing corruption and corrupt officials as people are coming forward to use this tool effectively to expose those who are blocking good clean governance in the state. Complaints in the helpline alone led to the arrest of 61 persons  and registration of 40 FIRs, since its inception on March 23 this year. The government received 4135 complaints with audio / video recordings on the given  number and after verifying genuine complaints.

Reiterating the AAP government’s avowed policy of “zero tolerance for corruption” CM Bhagwant Mann said that after assuming charge of his office, he had promised to deliver a corruption-free, transparent and clean administration to the people for which a number of initiatives have already been taken, including launching an anti-corruption helpline number in bid to annihilate corruption from Punjab.

CM said that departmental inquiries are going on and many more scams would be unearthed soon without any bias. All perpetrators who have looted the public money whether they are senior officers or politicians will be taken to task.

Chandigarh, Punjab

Urban area residents to get corruption free and time bound services: Aman Arora

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IEP CHANDIGARH JULY 08, 2022

The Punjab Government led by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is fully committed to provide all the citizen centric services to the people living in urban areas of the State with emphasis on the transparency and accountability factors. The services would accrue to the people in a corruption free and time bound manner. These views were expressed at the PUDA Bhawan today by the Housing and Urban Development Minister Aman Arora while chairing the first meeting of the department.

Taking stock of the ongoing projects as well those in the pipeline, Mr. Arora directed the officers to work diligently with a view to ensure futuristic and planned development.

Divulging more, the Minister said that clean, devoid of corrupt practices and an accountable administration would be the hallmark of the Punjab Government. Directing the officers to formulate pro people policy framework, the Minister also emphasized that the current projects and the schemes must be completed on time with people getting the services in a time bound manner.

Assuring that the harassment of the urban area residents in the Government offices would be a thing of the past, the Minister cautioned that those indulging in corrupt ways and means would not be spared at all. “The action plan of the department must be chalked out keeping in view the strengths and weak areas of the department”, said the Minister.

The Minister further added that he would soon meet the people inhabiting the urban areas besides the resident welfare associations and listen to their problems. This would pave the way for the formulation of such policies as would lead towards implementation of the suggestions received at these meetings.

Earlier, the Principal Secretary A.K. Sinha welcomed the Minister and apprised him of the steps being taken to ensure the smooth and efficient functioning of the department.

Among others present on the occasion included Chief Administrator PUDA and Director Town & Country Planning Arshdeep Singh Thind and Chief Administrator GMADA Amandeep Bansal.

Chandigarh, Punjab

DSP FARIDKOT LAKHVIR SINGH HELD FOR ACCEPTING Rs 10 LAKH BRIBE FROM DRUG SUPPLIER

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INDIA E POST CHANDIGARH JULY 6, 2022

Reaffirming the firm commitment of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to make Punjab a Corruption-free state, Punjab Police on Wednesday arrested Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Faridkot Lakhvir Singh for accepting Rs 10 lakhs as a bribe from a drug supplier for not nominating him in the FIR registered under NDPS Act in Tarn Taran, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here.

          The development came after the Tarn Taran district police had arrested a drug supplier identified as Pishora Singh from a petrol pump near Patti Morh after recovering 250grams opium and Rs 1 lakh drug money from his possession on Sunday. Accused Pishora, a resident of village Model Boparai in Tarn Taran was wanted in the FIR dated June 30, 2022, in which his aide Surjit Singh of village Mari Megha in Tarn Taran was arrested with 900grams of opium.

          Divulging details, DGP Gaurav Yadav said that during investigations by the Tarn Taran Police, Surjit revealed that he had purchased opium from Pishora, who is the main drug supplier.

          “When Police started conducting raids to arrest him, Pishora tried to bribe Patti CIA Incharge by offering Rs 7-8 lakhs through ASI Rashpal Singh (posted as MHC CIA Patti), in lieu of not arresting and nominating him in this case, but the Incharge refused to accept the bribe,” he said while adding that the Police teams continued their efforts to arrest Pishora.

          Later, Pishora met Rashpal Singh’s brother Hira Singh through his acquaintance Nishan Singh of village Sito in Tarn Taran, and together they approached DSP Lakhvir, who also happened to be the cousin of Hira Singh, where the DSP negotiated the settlement at Rs 10 lakhs to help the drug supplier, said the DGP, adding that the accused DSP instructed Hira to keep the amount with him.

          On the disclosure of Pishora Singh, the Police have also recovered Rs 9.97 lakhs from the house of Hira Singh, he said.

          Reiterating the commitment of the Punjab Government to make Punjab a corruption-free state, DGP Gaurav Yadav unequivocally said that any Police officer/official found indulged in corruption will not be spared. 

          Giving more details, SSP Tarn Taran Ranjit Singh Dhillon said that the Police have also nominated ASI Rashpal Singh, Nishan Singh and Hira Singh in the FIR and raids are being conducted to nab them.

          Meanwhile, sections 7, 7-A, and 8 (1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, sections 213, 214, and 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and sections 29 and 59 of the NDPS act have been added in the FIR, which was initially registered under sections 18,61,85 of the NDPS Act at Police Station Bhikiwind in Tarn Taran.

Chandigarh, Chandigarh, Punjab

PATWARI AMONG THREE HELD FOR GRAFT AS MORE COMPLAINTS POUR IN ON ANTI CORRUPTION ACTION LINE

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INDIA E POST CHANDIGARH JULY 01, 2022

With eradicating corruption in the governance system of the state is the top priority of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab Government, the Vigilance Bureau has registered two fresh FIRs and arrested three persons including Patwari and Deed Writer for graft following complaints on Anti-corruption Action Line, said Chief Director Vigilance Bureau Varinder Kumar here on Friday.

          In the first case, Accused Patwari Manavdeep Singh posted at Banga and his aide Navjot Kumar alias Lavi were arrested on Thursday for accepting illegal gratification of Rs 2000 in lieu of registering Intakal of land transfer mutation from the complainant. In this regard, FIR No 9 dated June 30, 2022, has been registered under sections 7 and 7-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act at Police Station Vigilance Bureau, range Jalandhar.

          In another case, accused ASI Manjit Singh posted at Police Station Dugri in Ludhiana Commissionerate has been booked for taking a bribe of Rs 1500 for submitting the challan in the court of an old case against the complainant. ASI was further demanding a bribe of Rs 3000 from the complainant. FIR No 7 dated 28.06.2022 under section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered at Police Station Vigilance Bureau, Ludhiana and Police are conducting raids to nab the accused ASI.

          In addition to this, the Vigilance Bureau teams on Thursday have also arrested accused Deed Writer (Arzi Navis) Mukul Gupta posted at Tehsil office Jalandhar in a previous corruption case in which he took illegal gratification of Rs 20,000 for the registry of the plot of the complainant without NOC. The case FIR No. 08 dated 10.06.2022 under section 7a of the Prevention of Corruption Act had been registered at Police Station Vigilance Bureau, Range Jalandhar.

          Pertinently, after taking charge as the Chief Minister, Bhagwant Mann launched the anti-corruption action line 9501200200 and appealed to the people of Punjab to share complaints pertaining to corruption via WhatsApp so that the state could be made corruption-free. Since the launch of the helpline number of prominent people including State Health Minister Vijay Singla, former Congress Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, former Congress MLA Joginder Pal, and IAS Officer Sanjay Popli has been arrested on corruption charges.