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Onkar Singh in New Delhi
Punjab Governor General J F R Jacob has written to President K R Narayanan recommending the removal of Punjab Public Service Commission Chairman Ravinder Paul Singh Sidhu from the post.
Governor signed a letter to this effect late on Monday night.
The vigilance department had arrested Sidhu on March 25 while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 500,000.
Subsequently, investigating agencies unearthed over Rs 250 million in cash and assets from Sidhu.
A spokesman at the governor's residence in Chandigarh told rediff.com that the letter has been sent to the chief secretary, who will forward it to the President.
Chief Secretary Y S Ratra confirmed he had received the letter but refused to divulge its contents.
Sources said once the letter is received by the President, he would ask a Supreme Court judge to go into the allegations of corruption against Sidhu. "The judge would then inquire into the charges and submit his report to the President. The President would then send the report to the Punjab government," they added.
"Once the President institutes an inquiry, Sidhu can be placed under suspension, provided the President is satisfied that the allegations against Sidhu are genuine," a spokesman at the governor's residence said.
Meanwhile, the vigilance department has also written to the Interpol division of the Central Bureau of Investigation seeking assistance in tracing bank accounts belonging to Sidhu and his relatives in Luxemburg, Belgium and the US.
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