DGP probe unearths scam in recruitment of PSPCL engineers
PSPCL CMD KD Chaudhary
findings show selection patiala and relation centric; DGP

exceeded brief, terms of inquiry, says PSPCL CMD
Nitin Jain
Chandigarh
A high-level probe into the recruitment of engineers by the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has prima facie found the entire examination process vitiated, and pointed to what could turn out to be a big recruitment scam involving wards of bigwigs, and top PSPCL officials.

The probe, conducted by DGP (Security and Vigilance), Punjab Powercom Sanjiv Gupta, has also established that as many as 80 per cent of the top 30 successful candidates belonged to Patiala, PSPCL headquarters, and 30 per cent or above were related to PSPCL employees.

The report, a copy of which is in possession of Daily Post, was recently submitted

to the PSPCL for further action. “Based on our enquiries and analysis of the data, we concluded that the entire examination process could have been vitiated,” the DGP said in the report.

The process pertained to the selection of Assistant Engineers (OT Electrical) and Junior Engineers (Electricals). Of the 14,381 candidates who appeared for the examinations on July 14 and July 15, 2012, as many as 385 had turned successful for the posts of AEs and 330 for the posts of JEs. Incidentally, the inquiry found that almost 50 per cent of the total successful candidates in the AE examination and 59 per cent in JE examination belonged to Patiala. “This wide variation in the results from different cities is difficult to explain,” the report said. In what appears to be a visible attempt to circumvent the inquiry proceedings, CCTV recordings of the examination centre under scanner in Patiala, were destroyed before the probe team could lay hands on them.

Observing that the rules regarding non-copying and non-carrying of mobiles were not enforced strictly, the DGP’s report stated that even as no MMS was traced

from the mobile phones of successful candidates for the post of AE the possibility of candidates using other mobile phones could not be ruled out. PSPCL Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) KD Chaudhary, has termed the DGP’s observations as “unfounded”.

“It was not his term of reference what he has done,” Chaudhary said while “totally disagreeing” with Gupta’s inquiry report. “His job was to find out

if any MMS was sent or received from the mobile phones of the candidates appearing in the examination, which could not be found,” he told Daily Post, on Monday. Asserting that there was no scam in the entire recruitment process, PSPCL CMD said that DGP’s report was submitted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had ordered the probe.

“We have now asked the state government to conduct a regular inquiry into the case,” Chaudhary said showing ignorance about who was conducting the regular probe and when it will be completed.