CHANDIGARH. /JALANDHAR
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Thursday arrested an absconding accused Gurdev Singh, a resident of village Khangah, district Kapurthala
for misappropriating a grant of Rs. 45,000 in colluding with others out of a total central grant of Rs. 4,95,000 received by Gram Panchayat Khangah in the year 2011-2012.
These funds were sanctioned to the said panchayat for the construction of pakka houses for the poor and homeless under the Indira Awas Yojana. The accused has been absconding for the last seven years.
It is worth mentioning that out of the total 132 accused involved in this case registered about seven years ago, 119 accused had already been arrested so far and 11 accused had passed away while the search for the remaining two accused was in progress.
Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the VB said out of the total central grant of Rs. 4,95,000 received by panchayat Khangah in the year 2011-2012 for the below poverty line (BPL) families, the then ADC Development-cum-Chief Executive Officer, Zila Parishad, Kapurthala, Satish Chander Vashisht, in connivance with Asa Singh Sarpanch of village Mehmedwal and Kulwant Singh, then Panchayat Secretary, had embezzled the grants by issuing cheques in the name of ineligible beneficiaries.
He informed that on the recommendation of Deputy Commissioner Kapurthala, a five-member committee, comprising various officials, had conducted a physical verification regarding the utilization of said grants, during which it was found that illegal payments to the tune of Rs. 1,80,00,000 were made to 411 ineligible beneficiaries belonging to 31 villages in Kapurthala district during the year 2011-12.
In this regard, the VB had registered a case against 132 accused under sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B of the IPC and sections 13(1), 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act at the Vigilance Bureau police station Jalandhar range.
The spokesperson informed that the above said accused Gurdev Singh, being an ineligible beneficiary had usurped the central grant of Rs. 45,000 in connivance with Kulwinder Kaur, Sarpanch of village Khangah and Kulwant Singh, Panchayats Secretary, through two cheques amounting to Rs 25,000 each on 07-03-2012 and 12-03-2012.