BDPO, panchayat secy suspended for ₹58.5 lakh fraud
MOGA: Three months after HT highlighted the embezzlement of panchayat funds to the tune of ₹58.55 lakh at Dhurkot village, the state government has suspended block development and panchayat officer (BDPO, Moga-1) Jaspreet Singh and panchayat secretary Karam Singh for their alleged role in the scam.
The move comes after the then district development and panchayat officer (DDPO) Ravinderpal Singh held Dhurkot village sarpanch Sarabjit Kaur along with Karam Singh and suspended BDPO Jaspreet Singh guilty and recommended action against them for embezzlement. Jaspreet is already under suspension for embezzlement in another village grant, also highlighted by HT.
“Both the officials have been suspended and further action will be initiated soon,” Siban C, director of the department said.
When asked that Jaspreet was already under suspension, Siban C said he was suspended in this case as well. In a report on May 7 this year, HT had highlighted as how the village sarpanch in connivance with panchayat secretary embezzled ₹57.60 lakh village grant.
Officials got assessed the works at the village and the scam was pegged at ₹58.55 lakh. The probe also indicted the suspended BPDO, after the officials found transactions of ₹25,000 from the panchayat account, which can only be possible with the involvement of an official such as BDPO. Panchayat secretary Karam Singh had directly transacted ₹3.50 lakh into his personal account.
THE CASE
Dhurkot village in Moga block-1 had received a grant of ₹71 lakh from the government last year in the form of compensation when the village common land was acquired for four-laning of the national highway-71 (Jalandhar-Barnala). Of ₹71 lakh , over 57 lakh was withdrawn between January 1 and March 31 from the panchayat account and was shown as spent on development works. But not a single penny was spent on any work.
BDPO Jaspreet Singh was suspended on March 22, after HT highlighted embezzlement of ₹26.6 lakh at Ramuwala Kalan panchayat in the same block.