Power board staffer booked
Aman Sood
Tribune News Service

Patiala, January 1
Trying to delay proceedings and “tampering with official records” to save a Junior Engineer (JE) of the Punjab State Electricity Board booked on corruption charges by the Vigilance Bureau in 2005, cost an official of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited dear. A case was registered on Friday against the official, who is absconding.

Following recommendations from the SSP (Vigilance Bureau), Jalandhar, an FIR has been registered against the guilty official, Ashok Kumar, at police station Kotwali, Patiala.

The accused has been booked under Sections 201 and 409 of the IPC pertaining to disappearing of evidence of offence and criminal breach of trust by a public servant.

Police officials said the Vigilance Bureau, Hoshiarpur, had booked JE Gurjinder Singh on charges of corruption on May 30, 2005. “To get the sanctions for sending the challan against the JE, the Vigilance Department had sent a file to the PSEB headquarters in Patiala to get necessary clearances in the case,” they said.

“However, the accused tampered with the files sent by the Vigilance Department and the records went missing from the headquarters which delayed the proceedings against the JE,” the police said, adding: “Following a recommendation by the vigilance sleuths, the police ordered registration of a case against the accused official.”

The police further said the entire proceedings were done by the Jalandhar Vigilance Department, which recommended registration of the case, and the Patiala police would further investigate the matter.

SSP Gurpreet Singh Gill told The Tribune, that the case has been registered against the guilty official.