Chandigarh March 8:
Vested interests in the Punjab Government are trying to shield culprits responsible of a scam that caused the government exchequer loss worth over Rs 3.5 crore, in what came to be known as the Leave Travel Concession (LTC) Scam in the early 1990s.
After seeking a favourable reprieve from a local court, those named in the scam have now managed to allegedly halt the movement of an official file, leading to the appeal against the reprieve becoming time barred.
First, the Vigilance Bureau maintained complete silence for weeks over a request by the Department of Home Affairs and Justice to furnish the record pertaining to the LTC scam. Then the file was made to shuffle between the office of the Home Secretary and the Chief Secretary. Finally, the matter has been referred to the Office of the Punjab Advocate General.
The case pertains to 1993 when a few employees of the Punjab Tourism Corporation withdrew over Rs 3.5 crore from government account on account of claims for re-imbursement of LTC by 113 government teachers. After a dispute arose among the accused over sharing of the gains, it surfaced that these teachers had never availed any LTC. When an inquiry was ordered, out of a scare of loosing their jobs, many teachers “returned” the money they never withdrew.
The case was handed over to the Vigilance Bureau. In 1994, the then Chairman and Managing Director of the Punjab Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) YS Ratra gave permission to the Vigilance Bureau to prosecute four employees under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. These included a manager, one assistant, an accountant and one clerk-cum-telephone attendant. After 16 years of the trial, some witnesses turned hostile giving the accused a reprieve, despite evidence against them.
After a decision in the case on March 31, 2009, the district attorney and public prosecutor recommend filing of an appeal. Those involved in the case allegedly ensured that the file disappeared so that in the meantime the case became time barred for the purpose of appeal. When, it was pointed out that the case cannot be filed by the home secretary as it pertaining to the Prevention of Corruption Act, it was sent to the chief secretary for permission to file an application for condoning of delay in filing an appeal.
The same was sent to the office of the AG but from there too it has mysteriously disappeared. On January 25, the Department of Home Affairs and Justice has again written to the Vigilance Bureau to produce the relevant records, but due to some “influential persons” both inside and outside the government, the matter has been put in cold storage.
Vested interests in the Punjab Government are trying to shield culprits responsible of a scam that caused the government exchequer loss worth over Rs 3.5 crore, in what came to be known as the Leave Travel Concession (LTC) Scam in the early 1990s.
After seeking a favourable reprieve from a local court, those named in the scam have now managed to allegedly halt the movement of an official file, leading to the appeal against the reprieve becoming time barred.
First, the Vigilance Bureau maintained complete silence for weeks over a request by the Department of Home Affairs and Justice to furnish the record pertaining to the LTC scam. Then the file was made to shuffle between the office of the Home Secretary and the Chief Secretary. Finally, the matter has been referred to the Office of the Punjab Advocate General.
The case pertains to 1993 when a few employees of the Punjab Tourism Corporation withdrew over Rs 3.5 crore from government account on account of claims for re-imbursement of LTC by 113 government teachers. After a dispute arose among the accused over sharing of the gains, it surfaced that these teachers had never availed any LTC. When an inquiry was ordered, out of a scare of loosing their jobs, many teachers “returned” the money they never withdrew.
The case was handed over to the Vigilance Bureau. In 1994, the then Chairman and Managing Director of the Punjab Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) YS Ratra gave permission to the Vigilance Bureau to prosecute four employees under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. These included a manager, one assistant, an accountant and one clerk-cum-telephone attendant. After 16 years of the trial, some witnesses turned hostile giving the accused a reprieve, despite evidence against them.
After a decision in the case on March 31, 2009, the district attorney and public prosecutor recommend filing of an appeal. Those involved in the case allegedly ensured that the file disappeared so that in the meantime the case became time barred for the purpose of appeal. When, it was pointed out that the case cannot be filed by the home secretary as it pertaining to the Prevention of Corruption Act, it was sent to the chief secretary for permission to file an application for condoning of delay in filing an appeal.
The same was sent to the office of the AG but from there too it has mysteriously disappeared. On January 25, the Department of Home Affairs and Justice has again written to the Vigilance Bureau to produce the relevant records, but due to some “influential persons” both inside and outside the government, the matter has been put in cold storage.
