According to an official spokesperson of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau, the arrests were made following the findings of Vigilance Inquiry No. 05 dated May 10, 2021, which led to the registration of a formal case at the Economic Offences Wing in Ludhiana.
The investigation pertains to the installation of a 66 kilovolt substation in Basant Avenue, where a colonizer allegedly, in collusion with PSPCL field officials, facilitated the establishment of the substation within a 1,015 square yard area inside the colony premises.
Officials stated that had senior authorities directed field officers to verify no-objection certificates across all interconnected colonies, and had the cumulative electricity load of adjoining developments been assessed collectively, the entire cost of establishing the substation would have been borne by the colonizer.
The probe further revealed that mandatory guidelines issued by the power ministry regarding substation installation were not followed. The substation site was reportedly located in undeveloped agricultural land approximately three kilometers from Pakhowal Link Road, with no proper paved access road available even today. This critical fact was allegedly not disclosed in official proposals submitted by field officers or acknowledged by senior management, including the then Chief Managing Director.
The spokesperson added that despite these deficiencies, the proposal forwarded by Sanjeev Prabhakar and other field officials for the establishment of the 66 kilovolt substation at Basant Avenue was approved by then CMD K. D. Chaudhary, overlooking multiple procedural lapses and technical objections. The decision allegedly resulted in direct benefit to the Basant Avenue colony developer.
The Vigilance Bureau confirmed that all three accused individuals have been arrested, and further investigation into the matter is currently underway. The case highlights serious allegations of procedural violations, abuse of official position, and potential financial irregularities in critical infrastructure planning and approval within the power sector
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