The Punjab government has suspended seven officials of the Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT) in connection with an alleged scam in the tendering of development works worth about ₹52 crore in Amritsar’s Ranjit Avenue locality. This comes days after the government suspended Amritsar senior superintendent of police (SSP, vigilance) Lakhbir Singh in connection with the same case.
Officials in the know of the matter said the allegations are that a particular firm was favoured in the tendering process. Government authorities, however, have not revealed any detail.
As per an order issued by the Punjab local government department on Tuesday, the suspended officials are: Satbhushan Sachdeva, Nigran engineer, Raminderpal Singh, trust engineer, Bikram Singh, trust engineer, Sukhripanpal Singh, assistant trust engineer, Shubham Pipesh, assistant trust engineer, Manpreet Singh, assistant trust engineer; Mandeep Singh, junior engineer.
“These employees/officers are hereby placed under suspension with immediate effect under Rule 4 (1) (a) of the Punjab Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 1970. The headquarters of these officials/employees is fixed at the head office of the Punjab local government department at Chandigarh during the suspension,” reads the order signed by Manjit Singh Brar, IAS, secretary, Punjab local government department.
SSP (vigilance) Lakhbir Singh was suspended on December 26 for alleged grave misconduct and dereliction of duty, according to an order. The order, however, did not reveal the nature of misconduct by the officer. He was shifted to Punjab Police headquarters in Chandigarh. His reader was also suspended for his role in this case.
{{/usCountry}}SSP (vigilance) Lakhbir Singh was suspended on December 26 for alleged grave misconduct and dereliction of duty, according to an order. The order, however, did not reveal the nature of misconduct by the officer. He was shifted to Punjab Police headquarters in Chandigarh. His reader was also suspended for his role in this case.
{{/usCountry}}In a statement, a spokesperson of the vigilance bureau had said that the action was taken against the SSP on the basis of an internal complaint received regarding the officer concerned. In response, appropriate disciplinary action was initiated.
The role of a former politician, who once remained associated with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Congress, and is currently a social media influencer, is also said to be under scanner.
Lakhbir Singh’s suspension marks the second such action in Amritsar in recent weeks. In November, the state government suspended Maninder Singh, the SSP of Amritsar rural, for his alleged failure to take stringent action against gangsters operating in the region.