The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has registered a case against two village sarpanches and two panchayat secretaries under allegations of embezzling lakhs in development works in the village. Two sarpanches and one panchayat secretary have been arrested during the investigation.
A spokesperson for the Vigilance Bureau stated that during the inquiry, Sarabjeet Singh, former sarpanch of Alal village, Sangrur district, and Naresh Kumar Singla, panchayat secretary (retired), were arrested for embezzling a sum of Rs. 2,00,927 from the panchayat funds and misappropriation of construction materials. A case has been registered against both offenders under IPC sections 409 and 120-B, as well as sections 13(1)-e and 13(2) of the Corruption Prevention Act at the Vigilance Bureau, Patiala Range Police Station.
In a separate case, during the investigation, Jatinder Singh, the sarpanch of Chandu village, Sangrur district, and panchayat secretary Gurmeet Singh were found guilty of embezzling approximately 74 lakh rupees in development works carried out in Chandu village from January 2019 to March 31, 2022. A case has been registered against both accused under IPC sections 409 and 120-B, as well as sections 13(1)-e and 13(2) of the Corruption Prevention Act at the Vigilance Bureau, Patiala Range Police Station. Sarpanch Jatinder Singh has been arrested in this case, while two other investigations are ongoing.”
