Explained: Why are PCS officers of Punjab going on mass leave after the Vigilance crackdown?

A complaint against the illegality by Vigilance Bureau has also been submitted to the police complaint authority by association.

Punjab-PCS-officers-mass-leave PCS-officers-go-on-mass-leave arrest-of-RTA-Dhaliwal

The PCS Officers Association has announced that officers all over Punjab will go on a mass casual leave for one week over the arrest of RTA Dhaliwal by the Vigilance Bureau. The PCS Officers Association has stated that the arrest of Narinder Singh Dhaliwal was illegal, wrongful, and arbitrary. Vigilance Bureau on 6th January 2023 arrested Narinder Singh Dhaliwal (RTA) in Ludhiana for allegedly collecting bribes from transporters.

The PCS Officers Association released a press statement in which they stated that the arrest of RTA Dhaliwal was unfortunate and not as per the law or guidelines of PCS Association. It further added that the right was unconstitutionally denied during the arrest of Dhaliwal. The Vigilance Bureau did not seek permission from the Chief Secretary of the case nor did they offer any show cause notice to Narinder Singh. The statement revealed that based on a mere statement of a private individual Narinder Singh Dhaliwal was called to the VB office and arrested there without any prior notice.

They also discussed an identical case of Tarsem Chand, another PCS officer who was arrested last year. The press statement stated, “it was noted that under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, no police officer shall conduct an inquiry or investigation into any offence alleged to have been committed by a public servant under this Act, where the alleged offence is relatable to any decision taken by such public servant in discharge of his official function without the previous approval of the competent authority, who is the Chief Secretary.”

The statement added that in the case of FIR against IAS Neelima, VB sanction under Section 17 A was not taken. The PCS Association submitted a memorandum to Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann regarding their demands. A complaint against the illegality by Vigilance Bureau has also been submitted to the police complaint authority by association.


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