Disproportionate assets case: MCB clerk booked

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 23

The Vigilance Bureau (VB) has booked a clerk of the Municipal Corporation of Bathinda (MCB) in a disproportionate assets case.

In a probe it has come out that in five years, the expenditure of the accused was Rs 2.47 crore against his income of Rs 1.07 crore from 2011 to 2016.

Accused Ravinder Singh Walia was recently promoted from clerk to accountant. He is presently posted at the Municipal Corporation in Ludhiana.

The bureau had started an inquiry against Ravinder Singh Walia on December 2, 2015, and found that he and his family members had spent Rs 2.47 crore on various moveable and immovable properties, besides other expenditure against his income of Rs 1.07 crore during this period.

It is also reported in the FIR that he made Rs 18.22 lakh moveable property, Rs 2.27 crore immoveable property and spent Rs 1.61 lakh for his domestic use.

It has also come to the fore that out of his immoveable properties, the accused spent Rs 99.45 lakh to purchase a plot in his father-in-law’s name and Rs 74.62 lakh on the construction of a kothi on the plot.

VB officials stated the accused had amassed assets of 130 per cent more than his actual income.

He said the VB team chose specific check period during which the accused clerk held responsible postings.

A case has been registered against clerk Ravinder Singh Walia under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 3 of the prohibition of Benami Property Transations Act 1988 at the Vigilance Bureau police station in Bathinda.

Earlier, the police had also booked accused Ravinder Singh Walia for duping residents by creating Crown Chit Fund Company.

It is also learnt that the accused had taken long leave from the MCB to do business in the company.

While talking to Bathinda Tribune, Vigilance Bureau SP Bhupinderjit Singh said, “A case has been registered against Ravinder Singh Walia for amassing more wealth than disclosed sources of his income by misusing his official position.” However, the accused has not been arrested till date.