The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Friday arrested an accused Mahinder of village Mehmadwal, district Kapurthala for misappropriating a grant of Rs. 45,000 in colluding with others out of total central grant of Rs. 13,50,000 received by Gram Panchayat Mehmedwal in the year 2012 which was sanctioned for the poor and homeless under Indira Awas Yojana. He was absconding for the last three years and four months in this case.
It is worth mentioning that out of the total 132 accused involved in this case registered six years ago, 118 accused had already been arrested so far and the search for the remaining accused was under progress.
Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the VB said out the total central grant of Rs 13,50,000 received by Gram Panchayat Mehmedwal in the year 2012 for the poor and homeless, 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, Panchayat Secretary, had embezzled the grant by issuing cheques in the name of ineligible beneficiaries.
He informed that on the recommendation of then Deputy Commissioner Kapurthala, a five-member committee, comprising various officials, conducted a physical verification regarding utilisation of said grant, 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 no. 01 dated 03-02-17 against 132 accused persons under sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B of the IPC and section 13(1), 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act at Vigilance Bureau police station Jalandhar range. In this case, the accused Mahinder, resident of village Mehmadwal, district Kapurthala was nominated in this case as an accused on 16-12-2019 after investigation, who has been arrested today.
The spokesperson informed that the above said accused Mahinder, being an ineligible beneficiary had usurped the central grant of Rs. 45,000 in connivance with Asa Singh, Sarpanch of village Mehmadwal and Kulwant Singh, Panchayats Secretary, through two cheques on 03-03-2012 and 07-03-2012.