Sangrur Nagar Council chief booked for fraud

Parvesh Sharma

Tribune News Service

Sangrur, April 9

The Vigilance Bureau (VB) has registered a case against SAD-supported president of the local Nagar Council and two others for allegedly defrauding the council of crores.

The FIR against council president Ripudaman Singh Dhillon, sanitary inspector Jasbir Singh and farmer Randhir Singh was registered after an inquiry by Sangrur DSP Hans Raj.

The case has been registered under Sections 409, 420, 120-B of the IPC and Sections 21 of the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.

In 2013, the council had taken five acres on the Ubhawal road from Randhir Singh on lease for five years for dumping waste. However, the council required just 1.5 acres and the remaining 3.5 acres was being used by the owner for agriculture and mining purposes. It is alleged that council officers paid Randhir Singh Rs 29.42 lakh, which included lease money for land not used by the council.

Dhillon said: “I am being implicated in a false case for political reasons. The VB did not give me proper hearing. I became president in 2015, while the contract for the land was signed in 2013. Last year, when I learnt about the issue, I immediately wrote to the CM and other authorities, besides stopping payments to Randhir. Later, the executive officer released Rs 5.39 lakh without my consent.”

On June 15 last year, the NC president along with some councillors had raided the dumping site and after detecting mining operations, had stopped payments to Randhir Singh.

Amrit Lal, executive officer, said: “I have not got a copy of the FIR yet and could comment only after going through it.”