After suspending work for three days, excise and taxation department officials resumed their duties on Thursday as their state-level association called off its indefinite strike on Wednesday night.
The department officials were on mass casual leave for two days (Monday and Tuesday) and announced an indefinite strike on Wednesday in protest against the alleged unlawful action being taken by the vigilance bureau against excise and taxation employees in different parts of the state.
One of the officials requesting anonymity said the steering committee — Confederation of Associations of Senior Officers, ETOs and Inspectors — met with Punjab chief secretary Vini Mahajan and other senior officials on Wednesday evening. During the meeting, it was decided that the vigilance bureau will first take permission from the financial commissioner (taxation) before initiating any inquiry against the department officials.
Earlier, the protesting employees had stated that FIRs are still being registered against them on flimsy grounds and arrests are also being made. Search operations are being conducted in officials’ houses, which is humiliating. Recently, the vigilance bureau had also conducted raids in Transport Nagar and a few other areas.
Deputy excise and taxation commissioner (DETC) Rajpal Khaira said, “The strike has come to an end the office is now open with 50 percent staff. Few works like issuance of permits etc were affected due to the strike, but there was no revenue loss.”