The PSEB Engineers’ Association has sought a judicial inquiry into the Punjab Vigilance Bureau’s action against former PSPCL chairman-cum-Managing Director KD Chaudhary and retired Chief Engineer Sanjeev Prabhakar.
In a letter to CM Bhagwant Mann, the association alleged that the proceedings appeared to be a “targeted attack” on senior technocrats of the power utility and said it had “lost faith” in the manner in which the Vigilance inquiry was being conducted.
Asserting that it did not support corruption or malpractice, the association termed the arrest of the two former officials in connection with a 15-year-old matter as “arbitrary”.
The association alleged that the FIR registered in the case was “highly vague and open-ended” and claimed the action had created fear, uncertainty and demoralisation among officers in the power sector, adversely affecting independent decision-making and the functioning of power utilities.
Questioning the need for custodial interrogation, the association said both officials had retired years ago and all records related to the case were already available with the Vigilance Bureau.
It further alleged that despite receiving the complaint around five years ago, the department had failed to file a chargesheet.
Seeking an independent probe, the association urged the CM to hand over the matter to a sitting or retired High Court judge “so that truth and justice may prevail without bias or prejudice”.
The association also claimed that there was “deep anguish and widespread resentment” among engineers of the PSPCL and the PSTCL over the developments.
It said an emergency meeting of its executive committee had been convened to discuss the issue and sought an immediate meeting with the CM to apprise him of the possible repercussions of the Vigilance action on the morale and functioning of the state-owned power companies.
