Ex-sarpanch surrenders before court

Tribune News Service

Mohali, April 18

Almost two months after the registration of a case of Rs 8 crore embezzlement of funds pertaining to acquisition of Jheurheri village shamlat land for the International Airport in Mohali, then village sarpanch Gurpal Singh surrendered before the CJM court here on Wednesday afternoon.

Gurpal is one of the key accused in the case, registered by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau under Sections 409, 420, 465, 467, 471 and 120-B 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 Sohel, Darshan Singh, Swarn Singh and Darshan Singh at the Vigilance police station at Phase 8 on February 20.

The Vigilance had already arrested former District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO), Mohali, Gurvinder Singh Sarao, who was posted as Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) in Mansa at the time of the arrest in the case, BDPO Malvinder Singh and panchayat officer Ravinder Singh for alleged embezzlement of funds in the case.

According to the Vigilance, the accused had misappropriated about Rs 8 crore in the purchase of agricultural and commercial land at a cost of Rs 23.62 crore for Jheurheri gram panchayat. A total of 36 acres of shamlat deh of the gram panchayat were acquired for the construction of the airport, for which compensation 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.

According to the Vigilance investigation in the case, the accused had embezzled crores of rupees while purchasing panchayat land for gram panchayat Jheuheri at Fatehgarh Sahib and Mohali district with the award money of acquisition land of the village. The land was shown to have been purchased at far higher than the market rate at far-off places, without taking prior sanction from the competent authority as required under the rules and crores of rupees were embezzled by the sarpanch, Gurpal Singh, department officers and private persons, said the Vigilance official.

The official said Gurpal, in connivance with the officers and others, had purchased more than 25 acres of agricultural land at Karimpura and Kandipura in Fatehgarh Sahib district by spending Rs 13.62 crore at the rate of Rs 54 lakh per acre against the prevailing collector rate of Rs 9.77 lakh.

Gurpal Singh was produced before the court, which sent him to three-day police remand.