Punjab chief info commissioner slams Jalandhar municipal body for lapses
The commissioner warned that continued non-compliance could lead to disciplinary action against senior officials. The observations were made by chief information commissioner Inderpal Singh during the hearing of an appeal filed by a resident of Hoshiarpur, who sought information from the MC on March 21. On getting no response, the appellant approached the commission on May 27.
In the first hearing on June 19, the complainant sought stringent action against the respondent for failing to comply with the RTI Act.
No one appeared on behalf of the MC in that particular hearing. However, Rakesh Kumar, officer on special duty (OSD) to the Jalandhar MC commissioner, was present in an unrelated matter and was asked to confirm the names of officials responsible for handling the RTI request. He said Suresh Kumar Sharma was serving as additional commissioner and Rajesh Khokhar as assistant commissioner.
The commission, taking note of the absence of the officers, warned that if they failed to appear on the next date, their presence would be secured through bailable warrants, and disciplinary action could also be recommended to the competent authority.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Freehold Apartments in Dubai Starting from AED 675K
Binghatti Developers FZE
Explore
Undo
In the last hearing, Khokhar appeared and submitted an affidavit stating that the RTI application did not relate to his department. He clarified no officer named Suresh Kumar Sharma was holding the post of additional commissioner at the relevant time and identified Rakesh Kumar, who was transferred on June 30, as the officer in charge when the RTI application was filed.
The commission then expressed dissatisfaction with Jalandhar Smart City Limited's reply.
The response, sent via email, was unsigned and lacked identification of the public information officer (PIO) responsible. Although it claimed that information for Points 1 and 2 was available online, the commission found the links inactive or inaccessible. This, it observed, amounted to a violation of Section 6(3) of the RTI Act, which mandated that if information sought pertained to another public authority, the original PIO must transfer the application to the body concerned.
The commission criticised the unprepared appearance of Khokhar, noting that he neither provided a satisfactory response nor consulted his colleagues before attending the hearing. The commission called it a wasteful burden on the exchequer that such a senior officer was deputed without being properly briefed.
The chief information commissioner then directed the MC commissioner to identify all officers, PIOs, and APIOs responsible for each point raised in the application.
They were instructed to submit the complete record of the RTI request along with related correspondence and to furnish details of all RTI applications received in the last six months.
The commission also ordered that all officials concerned, including Khokhar, must be present at the next hearing scheduled for Aug 6. In addition, the PIO of Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company has been impleaded as a necessary party in the case.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
32 minutes ago
- Indian Express
In joint operation, MI, police arrest two with ‘OG Kush' marijuana, Mephedrone
In a joint operation by the Military Intelligence (MI) unit of the Indian Army's Southern Command and Pune city police, two persons were arrested for selling Mephedrone and 'OG Kush' marijuana, which is grown hydroponically. Police identified the suspects as Abhinav Pradip Gupta (22) of Lakshmi Parvati society in Shivane and Irshad Iftiqar Shaikh (27) of Parge Nagar, Kondhwa. Acting on a tip-off, teams of the MI and the anti-narcotics cell of Pune City Police nabbed Gupta and his aide Shaikh in a car at Dharmavat Nagar in Kondhwa on Friday. Cops seized 8.28 grams of 'OG Kush' marijuana worth approximately Rs 82,800 from Gupta, who is a criminal on police record. Cops also seized 10.21 milligrams of Mephedrone, worth Rs 2.04 lakh, from Shaikh. Police seized the car and cell phones from the accused for further investigation. An FIR was lodged against the duo at Kondhwa Police Station as per sections of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. A probe was launched to find out from where the accused had procured banned drugs and to whom they wanted to sell it.
Time of India
33 minutes ago
- Time of India
Dental student in Greater Noida university hangs self in hostel room; 2 teachers arrested
A second-year dental student of a private university in Greater Noida hanged herself in her hostel room alleging torture by some members of the faculty, police said Saturday, adding two teachers have been arrested. The incident took place Friday night. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Project Management Artificial Intelligence Healthcare Cybersecurity PGDM Management Product Management Design Thinking CXO Technology Data Science Others MCA Degree Digital Marketing Data Analytics healthcare Public Policy Operations Management Leadership MBA Finance others Data Science Skills you'll gain: Project Planning & Governance Agile Software Development Practices Project Management Tools & Software Techniques Scrum Framework Duration: 12 Weeks Indian School of Business Certificate Programme in IT Project Management Starts on Jun 20, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Portfolio Management Project Planning & Risk Analysis Strategic Project/Portfolio Selection Adaptive & Agile Project Management Duration: 6 Months IIT Delhi Certificate Programme in Project Management Starts on May 30, 2024 Get Details Gurugram resident Ramesh Jongda lodged an FIR at Knowledge Park police station in Greater Noida Saturday, alleging his 21-year-old daughter Jyoti hanged herself in her room in Mandel hostel of Sharda University in Knowledge Park unable to bear the harassment. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villas For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Dubai villas | search ads Get Deals Undo Demanding stringent action against the university staff for "harassing" his daughter, Jongda mentioned in his complaint: "My daughter was instigated to commit suicide by university faculty, and was personally tortured by them and evidence regarding her suicide was also destroyed." Students of the university also held protests and demanded action against those responsible for her death. Live Events Police said Jyoti left a suicide note , in which she wrote: "If I died, the teachers of PCP and Dental material are to blame. Mahinder Sir and Shairy Ma'am are responsible for my death. I want them to go behind the bars. They mentally harassed me They humiliated me. I have been in stress because of them for a long time. I want them to face the same thing. I am sorry. I can't live like this anymore. I can't." In his FIR, Jongda alleged that the university officials and staff did not inform police and family members and took the body to Sharda Hospital. Police said they had lodged an FIR under the section 108, 238, 79, 352, 351 (2) of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023. "Two faculty members - Mahinder and Shairy - have been arrested and further investigation is on in this case," Sudhir Kumar, additional DCP, Greater Noida, told PTI. Sharda University spokesperson Dr Ajit Kumar said a probe has been ordered. "We have suspended those who were involved in this case and ordered an investigation. The report will be submitted within five days. We will take strict action against those who are responsible for it," he said. Jongda also alleged in the FIR that evidence regarding his daughter's suicide was destroyed by the university staffers. "On Monday, I went to the college and met Dean M Siddarth, Anurag Awasthi and Ashish Chaudhary (HOD) and others and they assured me that Jyoti will not be personally tortured nor will she be mistreated in any way, but even after that all of them together harassed my daughter," he added in FIR. He also alleged that his daughter was warned of punishment if she "complained too much". The FIR further said, "On 17/07/2025, Mahendra and Shairy Madam and Ashish Chaudhary again misbehaved and threatened that your work will not be approved and they will not allow you to take the exam, regarding which a suicide note of my daughter has been received."
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
ED alleges former CM's son Chaitanya Baghel laundered Rs 16.70 cr in liquor scam, Bhupesh Baghel slams ED, announces economic blockade
RAIPUR: In a stunning escalation of the ongoing liquor scam probe in Chhattisgarh, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged in its remand report that Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel , laundered Rs 16.70 crore in the proceeds of crime through two shell companies and under-invoiced real estate ventures. The illicit funds were part of a broader proceeds-of-crime pool generated by a powerful liquor syndicate that allegedly rigged the state's excise system between 2019 and 2022. The agency claims Chaitanya played a 'central and active' role in routing illegal cash through dubious transactions, including funnelling ₹5 crore from M/s Saheli Jewellers into a real estate project 'Vitthal Green' developed under M/s Baghel Developers. While official records showed a project cost of Rs 7.14 crore, ED investigators believe the actual expenditure was Rs 13–15 crore, with a significant portion paid in unaccounted cash. These funds, the agency claims, were part of a massive proceeds-of-crime pool worth over Rs 3100 crore, generated by a deeply entrenched liquor syndicate that systematically manipulated the state's excise department between 2019 and 2022. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Many Are Watching Tariffs - Few Are Watching What Nvidia Just Launched Seeking Alpha Read More Undo The ED arrested Chaitanya on Friday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and secured five-day custodial remand from a special PMLA court in Raipur. His arrest came amid fresh raids at his residence in Bhilai on the morning of his 38th birthday. ED produced a detailed remand application in a special court of Special Judge (PMLA) in Raipur on Friday, and the court granted his custodial remand to ED till July 22. The remand copy was released late in the evening. Amid sharp criticism from the opposition Congress against BJP govt and the federal agency, Chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai said, 'ED doesn't act randomly against anyone and it knows what it's doing.' 'A key witness connected to the project Pappu Bansal confirmed the under-invoicing and said that only Rs 2.62 crore was recorded in payments to the contractor, while an additional Rs 4.2 crore was allegedly paid in cash, money that ED says originated from the liquor scam,' ED further revealed that on a single day—October 19, 2020—liquor businessman Trilok Singh Dhillon paid Rs 5 crore for 19 flats in the same project, using names of his employees. This too has been flagged as part of the laundering chain. The Liquor Syndicate's Modus Operandi The liquor scam, currently being called one of Chhattisgarh's largest corruption scandals, was formally uncovered after the BJP returned to power in the 2023 Assembly elections. An FIR was lodged by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on January 17, 2024, naming 70 individuals and entities including top bureaucrats, liquor distributors, and political figures. The ED has broken the scam down into three core components: Procurement Scam- Liquor distilleries paid commissions of Rs 75 per case to receive preferential treatment from the state-run Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Ltd (CSMCL), parallel black market- a massive supply of unaccounted 'kacha' liquor using duplicate holograms bypassed official warehouses, fetching up to Rs 3,000 per case, FL-10A licensing racket-wholesale licenses were allegedly sold to foreign liquor distributors in exchange for kickbacks, allowing syndicate members to claim up to 60% of the profits. The manipulation, ED alleges, was facilitated by placing loyal officials in key departments and allowing the syndicate to control tenders, policy decisions, and staff appointments in the Excise Department. A Network of Names and Money The ED's case hinges on testimonies and digital evidence linking Chaitanya Baghel to the syndicate's financial web. Laxmi Narayan Bansal, alias Pappu—believed to be a key money handler—admitted in his statement to laundering over Rs 1,000 crore in cash in coordination with Chaitanya. He claimed to have received Rs 136 crore in three months, based on encrypted messages retrieved from the phone of Anwar Dhebar, a key middleman, and brother of ex-Congress mayor. Bansal also told the ED that he delivered huge cash amounts to Congress leader Ram Gopal Agrawal and excise officer KK Srivastava on Chaitanya's instructions Rs 80–100 crore in one instance alone. He also routed payments through Dipen Chawda, linking the financial trail back to ground-level liquor operations. Custody Justified, Says ED The agency argued in court that Chaitanya was non-cooperative during interrogation, refusing to disclose key details about the movement and utilization of funds. His custodial interrogation, the ED said, was vital to confront him with co-accused individuals, corroborate financial data, and trace the full extent of money laundering. The remand was granted by the Special Judge (PMLA) after the ED assured adherence to Supreme Court directives regarding the arrest procedure. The ED has so far attached properties worth over Rs 205 crore in connection with this case. While the ED's first ECIR in this case, based on an Income Tax complaint, was quashed by the Supreme Court in early 2024, the agency revived its probe after the EOW's FIR in January. Since then, multiple high-profile individuals have been arrested, including former excise minister Kawasi Lakhma, telecom officer Arun Pati Tripathi, liquor distributor Anwar Dhebar, and retired IAS officer Anil Tuteja. Chaitanya Baghel will remain in ED custody until July 22 as the probe deepens into what is increasingly being viewed as a high-level financial and political scandal that could have wide-ranging implications for the state's political landscape. 'This fight is not about saving Congress leaders, it's about saving Chhattisgarh,' reacted former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday, as the Chhattisgarh Congress announced a statewide economic blockade on July 22 to protest against ED arrest of his son.
