Punjab’s Revenue Officers' Association on Sunday warned of a complete shutdown of registry services across the State, protesting against alleged corruption charges against their president. The officers are set to meet the state Revenue Minister on Monday. “In case out demands are not addressed, we have vowed to halt all registry operations on Wednesday (December 18),” said the Association spokesperson.

The protest centered around the recent arrest of the Association's president Sukhcharan Singh Channi by the state Vigilance officials in Barnala for alleged bribery. The Revenue Officers’ Association, in a press conference held in Chandigarh, announced that they would not lift their protest until the charges against Channi were withdrawn. The Association claimed that the arrest was “unlawful”, while maintaining that “Channi is innocent”.

The officers had previously organized mass leave protests on November 28 and 29 in response to the incident. However, this time, the association is firm in its stance, with plans for an indefinite closure of registry services throughout Punjab if their demands are not met within the next two days.

Channi’s arrest on charges of accepting bribes was followed by a series of protests, with revenue officers from across the state, including Tehsildars, Naib Tehsildars, Sub Registrars, and DROs, participating in the protest. These officials have voiced their dissatisfaction with the ongoing corruption investigations and are demanding the immediate release of their president.