Panchayat secy, 2 panches booked for embezzling ₹33.5 lakh funds

BATALA: Three persons, including two panches and a panchayat secretary of Nikko Saran village, were booked on the charges of embezzlement of ₹33.5 lakh fund sanctioned by the government for the development of the village.

The complaint in this regard was filed by the block development and panchayat officer.

Dera Baba Nanak SHO Sukhraj Singh, said during 2014-2017, the state government had sanctioned grant of ₹33.5 lakh, for the development of Nikko Saran village, which falls under the jurisdiction of Dera Baba Nanak assembly.

However, during the investigation, it was found that Nikko Saran’s panchayat secretary, Piyara Singh, along with panches Gursharan Singh and Baljinder Kaur, embezzled the funds. On the orders of Gurdaspur DC, a probe was conducted by the district development and panchayat officer, who asked the Batala SSP to take action against the accused, the SHO said, adding that a case was registered against the three accused.