Vigilance or Vigilantism?

The limelight can be addictive. Ask the Punjab Vigilance Bureau. Following the adulation over the unearthing of the Punjab Public Service Co...

The limelight can be addictive. Ask the Punjab Vigilance Bureau. Following the adulation over the unearthing of the Punjab Public Service Commission scandal, the VB has taken on a new role: that of Big Brother.

As a result, nurses quake in their shoes, lest the VB men come calling, accusing them of not taking proper care of patients. Teachers tremble, wondering if the knock on the door signalled a VB team cracking down on private tuitions. Doctors drive extra fast to work, lest a VB team pulls them up for signing in late. This, from a bureau hitherto known for the occasional arrest of a clerk accused of receiving a hundred-rupee bribe.

Of course, none of this is happening without Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh8217;s blessings. And with the Opposition Akalis themselves reeling under corruption charges, there are few to object to the Vigilance Bureau8217;s vigilantism.

So, a sweltering May saw some former Akali ministers facing serious charges of amassing ill-gotten wealth. It also saw VB men fanning out to coaching centres across the state with the sole aim of teaching teachers a lesson; 100-odd teachers were put behind bars on charges of giving private tuitions. Next on the agenda were doctors; several were issued warnings, though none faced the ignominy of a jail spell.

8216;8216;Wheeling-dealing will not be allowed. Those days are over,8217;8217; says A P Pandey, the man calling the shots at the VB as its Chief Director. Soon, his men were stopping hundreds of buses and checking their documents. Their defence for their new-found zeal: 8216;8216;Whenever we receive a complaint about corruption, we have to act on it. Besides, we have to take care of cases that have piled up over the past five years,8217;8217; says Pandey.

But what if there are complaints about the VB itself? Top Intelligence officer A P Bhatnagar has gone on record to allege that Rs 2 crore went missing from a bank locker checked by VB. There are also allegations that the Bureau was going slow on cases 8212; including the Ravi Sidhu scam 8212; in which Amarinder had an interest, besides netting Akalis almost exclusively.

8216;8216;I think the VB has been given more than it can chew,8217;8217; says former DGP P C Dogra. 8216;8216;The VB should have learnt its lessons by now and will hopefully confine itself to quality investigation.8217;8217;

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But for some time at least, VB will have to work overtime to fend off charges of witch-hunting.