Ludhiana, June 2
The state Vigilance Bureau has unearthed property worth crores of a senior official of Punjab Technical University and found evidence of irregularities made in the appointment of 128 clerks, most of whom were recruited from Ludhiana and especially from the Assembly constituency of a former Akali minister. The involvement of the Akali leader in the scam is being probed.
Vigilance sources told The Tribune that a Ludhiana-based senior official of the university had been instrumental in recruiting 128 clerks, allegedly in violation of norms and by overlooking merit. The Vigilance Bureau is in the process of registering a case into the matter after getting an approval from senior bureau officers and the state government.
According to the sources, several appointees were allegedly recommended by influential officials of the university. Of these, more than 40 belonged to the constituency of a former Akali minister. The appointees had allegedly worked for him during the elections.
Vigilance sources claimed that the university had recruited the clerks without issuing any advertisement. The recruitment was done with the help of senior officials of the University and at least 11 high officials were recruited in the same manner.
The “kingpin” of the recruitment scam is based in Ludhiana. He is being charged with possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Vigilance investigations revealed that the official had been allegedly involved in the bungling of university funds. It was found that the official also took part in the election campaign of the former Akali minister. He is being charged with forging university cheques and pocketing the amount.
