Acting on the directions of Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, the Revenue Department on Tuesday suspended the controversial Tehsildar of Khamano Harphool Singh in the light of his purported video in which he had claimed to be party to corruption.
The Department has also ordered a vigilance inquiry against Harphool Singh, said an official spokesperson.
The video, which had gone viral recently on the social media, reportedly showed the Tehsildar openly declaring himself to be part of a corrupt system and claiming to have paid money to a legislator for securing a plum posting for a newly-recruited PCS officer. The said officer is currently posted as Naib Tehsildar.
The Revenue Department initiated action against Harphool Singh after the Chief Minister spoke to Revenue Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria.
The Chief Minister made it clear that he would not tolerate corruption under any circumstances and asked for a thorough vigilance probe into the matter. He has also sought the report of the probe at the earliest.
Notably, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MlA and the leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha Sukhpal Khaira had dared the Chief Minister to divulge the name of the Congress MlA who demanded Rs three lakh bribe for the posting of a Naib Tehsildar, as per the sting of Khamano tehsildar Harphool Singh going viral on the social media.
Khaira, releasing the sting operation on Sunday, had also dared Capt Amarinder to come out clean on the charges of rampant and blatant corruption taking place under his nose in the state.
Going into the background, Khamano Tehsildar was seen in the video saying that an MlA is demanding Rs three lakh bribe from his colleague Naib Tehsildar, a PCS officer, who has just been appointed.
The Tehsildar also confessed that he has good relations with the MlA demanding bribe and that he will try to negotiate the rate of posting, since the newly appointed Naib Tehsildar says that he can afford only Rs one lakh bribe, as he has made no money by corrupt means.
Apart from talking about money being exchanged for plum postings, the Tehsildar has clearly confessed in the viral video clip that there is rampant corruption in the state and nothing takes place without paying a bribe.