30 more record statements in Rs 1.70-cr Pachranga scam

JALANDHAR: In the Cooperative Agriculture Society scam in Pachranga village in Bhogpur, the police had recorded the statements of 19 sufferers and on the basis of those statements, the tentative scam was reported to be around Rs 1.70 crore. But within a week, 30 other sufferers from the same village have come up and have given their statements before the police.

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, November 25

In the Cooperative Agriculture Society scam in Pachranga village in Bhogpur, the police had recorded the statements of 19 sufferers and on the basis of those statements, the tentative scam was reported to be around Rs 1.70 crore. But within a week, 30 other sufferers from the same village have come up and have given their statements before the police.

The police said with more complaints coming up, the scam was expected to exaggerate further.

The police, however, have failed to arrest the accused, the secretary of the society.

The Bhogpur police had registered an FIR under Section 409 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The FIR had been lodged after 19 victims had given their statement to the police.

The suspect has not been caught by the police yet. Police officials said they had also gone to the residence of the accused.

“We have been making raids at his residence and nearby areas but nothing was found at his house. The house is in a bad shape. It seems that he has taken everything along with him. But we will nab him soon,” the police had earlier said after lodging the FIR.

The secretary of the Cooperative Agricultural Society, who is accused of committing the scam, had got posted at the Loharan Multipurpose Cooperative Society, where the scam of over Rs 70 lakh was reported.

One of the officials from the Cooperative Department had said looking at the‘wisdom’ of the secretary of the Pachranga society, he was posted at the Loharan society to look into the accounts and records properly, which were embezzled by the former secretary, who was now lodged in a jail.

But after joining the post at the society in Loharan, the accused went missing after which the scam came to the fore in the Pachranga society where he was originally posted.

Officials said he issued FDs without depositing the money in accounts. Besides, even the stock of fertilisers worth over Rs 20 lakh was found missing and the suspect reportedly embezzled this amount.

Surinder Pal, the ASI posted at Pachranga, claimed that they had got an important lead about the whereabouts of the society secretary, and he would be arrested in a day or two.