Vigilance Bureau arrests woman accused in embezzlement of housing grant meant for homeless

IEP Chandigarh March 24

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Friday arrested an accused Charan Kaur of village Goure, 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, district Kapurthala in the year 2012 which was sanctioned for the poor and homeless under Indira Awas Yojana. She was absconding for the last 4 years in this case.          It is worth mentioning that out of the total 132 accused involved in this case registered six years ago, 117 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 under the Indira Awas Yojana for the poor and homeless, the then ADC Development-cum-Chief Executive Officer Zila Parishad, Kapurthala Satish Chander Vashist in connivance with Asa Singh Sarpanch of village Mehmedwal and Kulwant Singh, Panchayat Secretary, had embezzled the grant through cheques by issuing them in the name of ineligible beneficiaries.             He informed that later on the recommendation of Deputy Commissioner Kapurthala, a five-member committee comprising various officials conducted a physical verification regarding utilisation of this grant, during which it was found that illegal payments to the tune of Rs. 1,80,00,000 were made to 411 ineligible beneficiaries of 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 Charan Kaur, resident of village Goure, district Kapurthala was nominated on 04-02-2019 after investigation, who has been arrested today.          The spokesperson informed that the above said accused Charan Kaur, being an ineligible beneficiary had usurped the central grant of Rs. 45,000 in connivance  with Sukhwinder Singh, Sarpanch of village Goure and Kulwant Singh, Panchayats Secretary, through two checks on 14-03-2012.