The Punjab Government on Tuesday ordered dismissal of an Excise and Taxation Officer (ETO) and also compulsorily retired one Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner (AETC) and three ETOs on the charges of corruption and non- performance.
ETO Baljinder Singh, who was recruited in 2012 and was still under probation, was dismissed from services by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal after he was found guilty in a corruption case, an official spokesperson of Punjab Excise and Taxation department said.
A trader, Bhushan Aggarwal alleged, in his complaint, that ETO Baljinder had taken a bribe amounting to Rs 1 lakh from him. The complainant has also produced recordings of his conversation with the ETO.
An inquiry was entrusted with Jalandhar Division’s Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner Sarojini Gautam Sharda in this case. ETO Baljinder has denied the allegations, but the recorded conversations between the trader and the ETO showed that money has been exchanged, the spokesperson said.
The inquiry officer recommended that the said ETO, who was still on his probation period, would be a permanent liability on the department, following which the ETO was dismissed with immediate effect, he said.
Spokesman said that AETC DS Gill, posted at Patiala as senior Auditor, ETO (VAT) Surinder Kumar Aggarwal, posted at Mohali SAS Nagar, Urvashi Goel, ETO (VAT) ludhiana and Harpreet Singh, ETO Patiala have been compulsorily retired from service on charges of non-performance.
The spokesperson said that there is a provision in the Punjab Civil Services (Premature Retirement) Rules, 1975, to review the performance of Group 'A' and 'B' employees at regular intervals and compulsorily retire the non-performers.