Two more nabbed in Gandhi Bhawan embezzlement case

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Chandigarh, April 11

The UT police have arrested two more persons in the Gandhi Smarak Bhawan, Sector 16, embezzlement case. Those arrested have been identified as Bhupinder Sharma, a resident of Sector 43, and Naresh Sharma, a resident of Sector 123, Mohali. The duo will be produced before a court tomorrow.

Prime accused Devraj Tyagi was earlier arrested by the police.

Complainant Anand Kumar Sharan, general secretary, Gandhi Smarak Nidhi (registered as an independent Trust), had reported the matter to the police seeking action against 15 persons for fraud following which a case was registered at Sector 17 police station in January this year.

The complainant had alleged Devraj Tyagi, former in-charge of Gandhi Bhawan, had organised a function on Gandhi Jayanti in 2022 and collected funds for an unauthorised Trust with a similar name to play a fraud on the sponsors. He allegedly prepared forged documents and opened a bank account.

A Trust deed was registered with the Sub-Registrar’s office in Chandigarh on September 9, 2022, under ‘Gandhi Samarak Nidhi’ (similar to ‘Smarak’, but with an additional ‘a’), with Gandhi Bhawan, Sector 16, as its address, having five trustees.

The Trust was registered with forged documents with the help of Tyagi and others, it is alleged.

“The sole objective of these persons is to play a fraud to usurp the property owned by the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi,” the complainant stated.

Further, the complainant had alleged several other organisations had been registered at the Gandhi Bhawan address. In one such organisation, Prakritik Chikitsa Samiti, a naturopathy doctor on a contractual basis had referred to himself as the chairman of the organisation. One suspect got several firms and societies registered at the same address and was running these from the address, it has been alleged.

In the FIR, the complainant had stated during the Gandhi Jayanti event in 2022, attended by the Punjab Governor and UT Administrator, UT Mayor and Additional Solicitor General of India, “all these dignitaries were not given a true picture about the organisation that actually owns the property and the identification of Devraj Tyagi as an employee. The sponsorship was collected by Tyagi in a different account, while the actual expenses were borne by us and as we were kept in the dark about the illegal activities of Tyagi.”

The contractual services of Tyagi were terminated on October 16, 2022.

Allegations by complainant

• The complainant had alleged Devraj Tyagi, former in-charge of Gandhi Bhawan, had organised a function on Gandhi Jayanti in 2022 and collected funds for an unauthorised Trust with a similar name to play a fraud on the sponsors.
• He allegedly prepared forged documents and opened a bank account.
• The sole objective of these persons is to play a fraud to usurp the property owned by the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi.