Court summons PCS officer in graft case

Baaj Singh said when he put his application for a new permit before Tarsem Chand, the latter asked him how many buses he had, to which the complainant replied that he had tourist buses bearing Rajasthan registration numbers.

“Tarsem Chand told me that if I want to operate my tourist buses in Punjab and save my buses from challans, then I should meet his driver Amarjit Singh. He assured me that I would not face any difficulty in operating my buses,” the petitioner said.

“When I met Amarjit outside Chand’s office the same day, he demanded a bribe of Rs 25,000 per month for allowing me to operate my buses,” the petitioner alleged.

Baaj Singh said he told Amarjit that his business was lying closed due to the Covid-19 lockdown and he wouldn’t be able to pay such a huge amount every month. “Amarjit then asked me to pay Rs 15,000 per month, but when my business becomes normal, I would have to pay Rs.25,000 per month. I had, however, recorded my conversation with Amarjit that day,” the petitioner said. Baaz Singh. Meanwhile, moved an application before the Vigilance Bureau.

It was submitted that Baaj Singh got his statement recorded, thereby supporting the case of the Vigilance Bureau and the initial statement made by him before laying a trap. “Keeping in view the deposition made by the aforesaid witnesses and the averments contained in the final report presented by the Vigilance Bureau, ex-facie, there are sufficient grounds to proceed against Tarsem Chand, the then RTA, Faridkot, under section 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and sections 109 and 116 of theIPC,” Additional District and Sessions Judge Harsimranjit Singh said.