Vigilance probe sought in fuel scam

Days after the exposure of a fuel scam at the Municipal Corporation’s auto workshop, the civic administration has begun taking disciplinary action, but the fallout has sparked a fresh controversy. In a move seen as both corrective and contentious, MC Commissioner Gulpreet Singh Aulakh has suspended two drivers, who were identified for selling diesel from MC vehicles into the private market. However, the limited scope of this action, focusing only on low-ranking staff, has triggered strong reactions.

The scam, reported two weeks back, revealed a network of MC drivers and workshop staff illegally selling fuel from municipal vehicles. As a result, the workshop’s in-charge, Health Officer Dr Rama, was removed from her post and shifted to the Establishment Branch. Executive Engineer Satwinderpal Singh has now been appointed in-charge of the workshop’s operations.

The probe into the scandal as conducted by Additional MC Commissioner Surinder Singh, who is also in charge of overseeing sanitation operations and vehicle routing. RTI activist advocate PC Sharma, who has been closely following the case, said the inquiry appeared biased from the outset. “If diesel is being sold by drivers just outside the workshop, then the failure in monitoring falls directly under the jurisdiction of the officer in charge of vehicle movement. Making the same officer investigating officer was flawed from the beginning,” Sharma said. He has written to CM Bhagwant Mann, urging him to assign the inquiry to the Chief Director of the State Vigilance Bureau to ensure an impartial probe.