VB nabs tehsildar in Mohali land scam

Chandigarh, May 27

The Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Sunday arrested Bassi Pathana tehsildar in a case of embezzlement of funds pertaining to the acquisition of Jheourheri village shamlat land for the international airport in Mohali.

In a statement, the bureau said Kuldip Singh Dhillon, who was posted as tehsildar, Bassi Pathana, allegedly helped two main accused sarpanch Gurpal Singh and Mohammad Suhel Chauhan in the case of getting land registered fraudulently.

The Vigilance claimed that Dhillon received a bribe of Rs 17 lakh from the accused and was instrumental in execution of Rs 6.35-crore scam.

So far, the police have arrested around 12 persons in the case. The bureau have registered a case under relevant sections of the IPC and Sections 13(1)(d) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act against former Mansa ADC Gurvinder Singh Sarao, BDPO Malvinder Singh, Panchayat Officer Ravinder Singh, Gurpal Singh, Surinder Singh, Mohammad Suhel, Darshan Singh, Swarn Singh, Darshan Singh and others on February 20. The Vigilance had also arrested Jeetpal Mittal, an accused in the case.

Significantly, 36 acres of common land was acquired for the construction of the airport, for which a relief of Rs 1.5 crore per acre was awarded. The government had released Rs 54.17 crore to the panchayat, but the funds were placed at the disposal of the Director, Rural Development and Panchayats. — TNS