FIR cancelled in MGNREGA account transactions linked to DeMO

SANGRUR: Police have cancelled a case of fraud against five people registered in December 2016, a month after demonetisation, after an inquiry found no merit in complaints that accounts of over 100 MGNREGA workers were used for fraudulent deposit and withdrawal during the period.

The case was registered on complaints of workers in Rajo Majra village in Sangrur. The workers had alleged that three women of the village, along with officials from the State Bank of India, asked them to submit their passbooks and handed these back to them, a few days later.

Workers claimed that they found separate deposit entries on their passbooks — the first was of ₹10,000 on November 25, 2016, and the second was on December 1, 2016, of ₹24,000 which were withdrawn on December 7, 2016.

On December 12, 2016, the workers protested against the bank and demanded strict action against bank officials and their ‘aides’. The police registered a case against five people under Sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy) of the IPC at the Sadar Police station on December 13.

Dhuri DSP Akashdeep Singh Aulakh conducted an inquiry and cancelled the case on the basis of affidavits that the workers submitted. In his report, the DSP said he had found that the workers made deposits and withdrew their money through their representatives and there was no fraud in the case.