Chandigarh : A court in Punjab on Monday held former Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) chairman Ravi Sidhu and three others guilty in the cash-for-job scam that was busted by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau in 2002.
The quantum of punishment to Sidhu and others held guilty is likely to be announced on Tuesday by Patiala’s court of additional sessions judge Pushpinder Kaur.
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau had registered a case against Sidhu, his family members and several others in 2002 after the multi-million rupee cash-for-jobs scam was unearthed.
The PPSC makes selections and appointments for Class-I jobs in Punjab.
Sidhu, a former journalist, his mother Pritpal Kaur, brother Reetinder Singh, sister-in-law Ajinder Kaur, PPSC secretary Pritpal Singh and others were booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act.
Sidhu’s mother and sister-in-law were declared proclaimed offenders.
The vigilance bureau recovered crores of rupees from lockers and other premises of Sidhu and his family members. The bureau found that Sidhu had amassed assets beyond his known sources of income.
Sidhu was nabbed “red-handed” on March 25, 2002, while accepting a bribe of Rs.5 lakh from excise and taxation inspector Bhupjit Singh.