The North News
Chandigarh, January 13
The Punjab government has dismissed a senior finance official and initiated action against dozens of others after a sweeping corruption probe that officials say underlines a policy of zero tolerance towards graft.
The state’s Finance Minister, Harpal Singh Cheema, said complaints received in mid-2022 against four employees posted in the Treasury and Accounts Branch and district treasury offices prompted immediate suspensions and a referral to the Vigilance Bureau for an independent investigation. That departmental inquiry, concluded in December 2025, resulted in the dismissal of one official holding the rank of Superintendent Grade-2, while three others were handed major penalties under service rules. “This itself reflects the government’s zero tolerance towards corruption,” Cheema said.
The case has also moved firmly into the criminal justice system. An FIR was registered by the Vigilance Bureau, Amritsar Range, against the dismissed official, who was arrested on 11 January. He was produced the following day before the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Gurdaspur, which granted one day of police remand to allow further questioning.
What began as a case against four officials has since widened significantly. Cheema said scrutiny of their bank accounts uncovered suspicious financial transactions linked to 22 other officers and employees. To avoid allegations of bias, the government asked a retired judge to examine the material. On the basis of that inquiry, departmental proceedings have now been initiated against all 22 officials, he said.
The action forms part of a broader push by the Punjab Government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, to project a clean break from entrenched practices in the state’s bureaucracy. Since coming to power, the Mann administration has repeatedly said it will not shield officials accused of wrongdoing, regardless of rank or influence.
Cheema said the message was deliberate and unambiguous: corruption, once detected, would be met with swift administrative and legal consequences. The government’s priority, he added, was to build an administration that was transparent, accountable and worthy of public trust.
