Chandigarh, February 5 : The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) is urging the State Government to take appropriate action against the erring candidates through the Police Department, as recommended by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the High Court, in its ongoing investigations into the 2008-09 recruitment scam of Medical Officers (MO) conducted by the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC).

Urging Action by the State Government and Police Department

On December 19, 2023, the Secretary of Health and Family Welfare directed the Police to take necessary steps in this case. Meanwhile, the VB has filed two cases at its Patiala range police station and is actively pursuing further investigations.

Special Investigation Team’s Recommendations and VB’s Initiatives

An official spokesperson of the state VB disclosed this today, stating that the High Court had appointed a SIT comprising MS Bali, IPS (Retd), Joint Director, CBI, and Suresh Arora, the then Chief Director of VB, to examine this scam. The SIT recommended filing cases under sections 120-B, 420, 468, and 471 of the IPC against candidates who utilized forged certificates for claiming social work weightage in the medical field. On December 15, 2023, the VB urged the State Government to initiate cases against such MOs through the Police department.

Additionally, in compliance with directives received from the Punjab Government on December 14, 2023, the VB registered two cases related to this recruitment scam.

Registration of FIR No. 45 at VB Police Station, Patiala

The VB Police Station in Patiala filed FIR No. 45 dated December 18, 2023, under sections 13(i)(a) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and sections 409 and 120B of IPC against the then members of PPSC for conspiracy and criminal misconduct during the MOs selection process

Registration of FIR No. 46 at VB Police Station, Patiala

Furthermore, the VB Police Station in Patiala registered FIR No. 46 dated December 18, 2023, under sections 13(i)(a) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act against Dr. Satwant Singh Mohi, the then member of PPSC, for accumulating disproportionate assets, as reported by the SIT to the High Court.

Ongoing Investigations and Arrests by the SIT

The spokesperson revealed that the SIT, supervised by the Senior Superintendent of Police, VB, Range Patiala, is actively conducting further investigations in both cases. In FIR No. 45/2023, Dr. Satwant Singh Mohi was arrested by the VB on December 19, 2023. The other three accused in this case, namely D.S. Mahal, Ravinder Kaur, and Anil Sarin, have received interim protection from arrest from the HC, with a directive to join the investigation. Consequently, all the above-mentioned accused have complied and joined the ongoing investigation.