E-Paper
Suspended ITI principal caught for graft sent to judicial custody
Shamsher Singh Purkhalvi had demanded a bribe of ₹50,000 from a Ludhiana resident to recruit him as an instructor at the ITI in Mohali’s Phase 5
A day after the Vigilance Bureau arrested Shamsher Singh Purkhalvi, a suspended principal of the Industrial Training Institute (Women), Phase 5, for demanding a bribe of ₹50,000 from a Ludhiana resident, a local court sent him to Ropar Jail on judicial custody.
Investigating officer Jasbir Kaur said, “Since we already conducted a search at his house on Monday and did not find anything, we did not seek police remand. Some more people are approaching us with complaints against him. Once the details are established, we will investigate and take further action.”
Purkhalvi was arrested from his residence in Zirakpur after the complainant, Hardeep Singh, approached the anti-corruption helpline, recently launched by Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann.
In his complaint, Hardeep stated that he had applied for the instructor’s post at the ITI under the reserved category. But the principal, Shamsher Singh Purkhalvi, sought a bribe of ₹50,000 for recruiting him on outsourcing basis. Hardeep filmed Purkhalvi while he made the demand and forwarded it to the anti-corruption helpline number.
Since suspended from the institute after a slew of complaints, Purkhalvi is now facing a case under Section 7 (public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
