Amidst its ongoing drive against corruption in the state, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) arrested Surinder Dhillon, the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) of Sri Muktsar Sahib, on Saturday. He is accused of embezzling funds from grants released for compensation related to land acquired for the Amritsar-Kolkata Corridor Project in Patiala district.
Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) stated that Surinder Dhillon, who was posted as the District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO) at the time, was named in FIR No. 12, dated 26.05.2022. He faces charges under sections 406, 420, 409, 465, 467 and 120-B of IPC, as well as section 13(1)(A) read with section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended by the PC (Amendment) Act, 2018.
These charges pertain to embezzlement and failure to perform his duties regarding a grant of Rs 285 crores released for compensation related to 1,103 acres of land acquired for the Amritsar-Kolkata Corridor project, specifically in the villages of Akkri, Sehra, Sehri, Takhtumajra and Pabra in the Shambhu Block of Patiala district.
During the investigation, the VB found that 30% of the funds allocated was supposed to be deposited in the account of Secretary wages of the BDPO Office, which was not done properly. Also as per rules, only 10% of the remaining funds was intended for the development of these five villages, while the accused infact overspent significantly, using around Rs. 65 crores on papers for development projects.
Some of these projects existed only on papers and the actual work completed did not meet the required technical specifications, he added. Earlier, some Sarpanches and Members of the Panchayats from these villages were also arrested during the investigation of this case. Apart from this, former MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur, along with his son and their associates, were also named and arrested as part of the inquiry.
The spokesperson said that a team from the VB Patiala Range arrested the accused, Surinder Dhillon, today in Sri Muktsar Sahib and the further investigation is currently ongoing in this case.