India, Sept. 10 -- Punjab Government employees have called off their four-day pen-down strike midway through the agitation, ending the protest on its second day after the state government assured them that no punitive action would be taken against those who participated in the August 27 mass casual-leave protest.

The decision followed an hour-long meeting between Chief Secretary KAP Sinha and representatives of employee unions, including Sahil Sharma, Manjit Singh Randhawa and Alka Chopra. The Chief Secretary assured the unions that the August 27 letter declaring the mass casual leave "unauthorised" would be withdrawn and that no coercive action would be initiated against participating employees.

Sinha later described the meeting as "fr...