CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government on Monday conducted the first major bureaucratic reshuffle following the meeting of all AAP MLAs in the state with the party's national convener Arvind Kejriwal. The state government transferred the Chief Director of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau Varinder Kumar and suspended the Deputy Commissioner of Muktsar, Rajesh Tripathi, on charges of corruption.
Sources said many party legislators had complained during the meeting of AAP MLAs in Delhi last week, about some junior officials of the Vigilance Bureau running a “parallel system” and issuing notices against officials in the administration.
As per orders issued by the state government Additional DGP (Provisioning) G Nageswara Rao, a 1995 batch IPS officer has been appointed as the chief director of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau in place of Special Director General of Police, Varinder Kumar a 1993 batch IPS.
Kumar joined as chief of the Vigilance Bureau in 2022. He was due to retire in July this year. Kumar has not been given any posting as yet and has been asked to report to the DGP.
Sources in the Chief Minister's Office said that Kumar was transferred as there was no affirmative action by the Vigilance Bureau in several high-profile cases of corruption currently being investigated by it.
With the change at the top, the state government hopes that the investigations in high-profile cases might speed up and also junior officers will also rein in.
Additionally, the Deputy Commissioner of Muktsar Rajesh Tripathi, a 2016-batch IAS officer, has been placed under suspension on charges of corruption. Abhijeet Kaplish, a 2015-batch IAS officer has been appointed as new Deputy Commissioner of Muktsar.
Tripathi was appointed as the Deputy Commissioner of Muktsar on August 16, 2024, replacing Harpreet Singh Sudan. Before this, he served as the Additional Secretary, Revenue and Rehabilitation, and Director of Land Records, Settlement, Consolidation, and Land Acquisition in Jalandhar.
Interestingly last week the state personnel department had issued instructions asking all deputy commissioners, senior superintendents of police, sub-divisional magistrates, and SHOs to check corruption at public offices or face action.
The department had stated that corrupt practices undermine public trust, weaken institutions, and hinder national growth, so top priority must be accorded to check this menace. In order to ensure corruption-free and citizen-friendly governance, all field officers should take stringent and effective steps.
The order stated that to make the officers accountable and more responsive, feedback will be taken not only from the public but also from MLAs and MPs regarding their working.