Mandi officials involved in ‘pocketing’ salaries

Hina Rohtaki

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, April 17

It has come to light that besides Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB) officials, those of mandi boards siphoned off lakhs of rupees meant for salaries, ESI and EPF dues of board employees.
HSAMB Chief Administrator Anil Malik had yesterday ordered a probe against senior board officials for allegedly pocketing Rs 33.44 lakh meant for salaries, EPF and ESI of contractual employees.
As per a list of bank statements, available with The Tribune, the money was transferred in the bank accounts of accountants, mandi supervisors and other government officials posted in the mandi boards of Tohana, Jind, Narwana, Sivani, Dharshool, Julana, Pilukheda, Bhoona, Charkhi Dadri and Safidon.
“The secretary of the Tohana mandi board asked Friends Security Service (to whom hiring of Class IV employees for the HSAMB was outsourced) that money should go in the bank accounts of mandi supervisor Ram Kala and accountant Amarjit Singh instead of the accounts of employees,” the complainant, Hairsh Kumar, said. More than Rs 14 lakh was transferred in the accounts of the two officials, he claimed.
In the Narwana mandi board, Rs 9.22 lakh was transferred in the account of Jai Singh.
In the Sivani mandi board, Rs 54,152 was transferred in the account of Somvir Singh. In the Bhoona mandi board, Rs 93,106 went in the account of accountant Kashmiri Lal.
A sum of Rs 1.89 lakh went in the account of accountant Ramesh Lal in the Dharshool mandi board. The complainant said the market secretary asked him to deposit in his account.
Over 15 senior officials including Secretaries
are involved in the criminal conspiracy.