{"id":58530,"date":"2026-01-13T15:53:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T10:23:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/?p=58530"},"modified":"2026-01-13T19:10:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T13:40:35","slug":"zero-tolerance-against-corruption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/zero-tolerance-against-corruption\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Zero Tolerance for Corruption: Mann Government Blueprint for Transparent Governance.&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Punjab E News:\u00a0<\/span> Reaffirming the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab Government\u2019s zero-tolerance policy against corruption, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday said strict and exemplary action was being taken against corrupt officials in the Finance Department, underlining that no one would be spared, irrespective of rank or position.<\/p>\n<p>Sharing details of the ongoing crackdown, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said complaints of corruption were received in mid-2022 against four employees posted in the Treasury and Accounts Branch (Head Office) and various District Treasury Offices. \u201cThe moment complaints were received, the department acted without delay. All four officials were immediately suspended and the matter was handed over to the Vigilance Bureau for a thorough and independent investigation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Explaining the outcome of the departmental inquiry, the Finance Minister stated that after an exhaustive probe, decisive action was taken in December 2025. \u201cOne official holding the rank of Superintendent Grade-2 was dismissed from service, while the remaining three employees were awarded major punishments as per the service rules. This itself reflects the Punjab Government\u2019s zero tolerance towards corruption,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Minister Harpal Singh Cheema further informed that legal proceedings were also taken to their logical conclusion. \u201cDuring the course of investigation, FIR No. 1\/2026 was registered by the Vigilance Bureau, Amritsar Range, against the dismissed Superintendent Grade-2. The accused was arrested on January 11, 2026, and after completion of his initial custody period, he was produced before the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Gurdaspur, on January 12, 2026. The Court has granted one-day police remand for further interrogation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Taking the anti-corruption drive a step further, Minister Harpal Singh Cheema revealed that scrutiny of the bank accounts of the four accused employees uncovered suspicious financial transactions involving 22 other officers and employees. \u201cTo ensure complete fairness and transparency, the investigation into these transactions was conducted by a retired judge. Based on the findings of this impartial inquiry, departmental action has now been initiated against all 22 officials strictly as per rules,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Reiterating the government\u2019s resolve, the Finance Minister said, \u201cThe Punjab Government is committed to providing a transparent, responsible, and clean administration to the people of the state. Wherever corruption comes to light, immediate and strict action will be taken, regardless of the official\u2019s position.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Minister Harpal Singh Cheema asserted that these actions send out a clear message that illegal practices and misconduct would not be tolerated under any circumstances, and that the Bhagwant Mann Government\u2019s priority remained building an honest and trustworthy administrative system for the people of Punjab.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Punjab E News:\u00a0 Reaffirming the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab Government\u2019s zero-tolerance policy against corruption, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday said strict and exemplary action was being taken against corrupt officials in the Finance Department, underlining that no one would be spared, irrespective of rank or position. Sharing details of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":36179,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest","category-punjab"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>&quot;Zero Tolerance for Corruption: Mann Government Blueprint for Transparent Governance.&quot; - PunjabENews<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/zero-tolerance-against-corruption\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&quot;Zero Tolerance for Corruption: Mann Government Blueprint for Transparent Governance.&quot; - PunjabENews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Punjab E News:\u00a0 Reaffirming the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab Government\u2019s zero-tolerance policy against corruption, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday said strict and exemplary action was being taken against corrupt officials in the Finance Department, underlining that no one would be spared, irrespective of rank or position. 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