Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has ordered the dismissal of the PCS officer who was convicted by a court and sentenced to jail in a 2010 bribery case last month.TK Goyal has been dismissed from service under Article 311 of Civil Service Rules, a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said on Monday, adding that Captain Amarinder took serious cognizance of the officer’s conviction and ordered his immediate removal from office.The Punjab Civil Service (PCS) officer was sentenced last month to three years of rigorous imprisonment in the bribery case, that was reported when he was joint secretary in the scheduled castes/backward classes (SC/BC) welfare department.Goyal was arrested on September 8, 2010, under the Prevention of Corruption Act, from his office at the Chandigarh civil secretariat on a complaint by George Shambu of Begowal village in Kapurthala district, after he was caught “red-handed” while accepting Rs 50,000 for issuing an SC certificate.
At present, the 1995 batch officer was posted as project director, Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), in addition to holding charge as Joint Secretary, Higher Education.The Chief Minister, who has taken a stern stand against corruption, and has promised a clean and transparent government, made it clear that there was no place in his administration against any person found indulging in corrupt practice. The Chief Minister has directed strict adherence to the law in all matters, without any compromise on his commitment to providing honest governance to the people of Punjab. Any violation of this directive would be dealt with an iron hand, he has once again warned.