Sources said that the accused had caused a loss of Rs 3.36 crore to the state exchequer by buying solar lights worth Rs 5.83 crore for Rs 9.2 crore.
Sirsa, May 1
A day after suspension of four Block Development and Panchayat officers (BDPOs), the police have registered a case of embezzlement against six persons including the suspended BDPOs and an official of Haryana Renewable Energy Department (Hareda) and one Junior Engineer of Hisar for alleged misappropriation of Rs 3.36 crore in the purchase of high mast solar lights.
Sources said that the accused had caused a loss of Rs 3.36 crore to the state exchequer by buying solar lights worth Rs 5.83 crore for Rs 9.2 crore.
The Sirsa Civil Lines police station today registered a case on the complaint of Madan Lal Garg, Joint Director of Panchayat and Development Department, against the four BDPOs Ravi Kumar, Omprakash, Vivek Kumar and Anil Kumar besides assistant project officer of Hareda Subhash and JE Dinesh Kumar under Sections 409, 420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
On getting a complaint, the Development and Panchayat Department, Haryana, had entrusted the investigation into the purchase of the lights to Ishwar Singh, Superintendent Engineer (Quality Control and Vigilance Cell), Panchayati Raj. During the investigation, the SE wrote a letter to the Executive Engineer (Electrical) of Ambala on February 9, asking whether the specification of the solar lights installed at Sirsa was as per the rules and also asked him to assess the market value of the lights.
Later, a committee of Rohtak SDO (Electric) Vishal Poonia, Ambala SDO (Electric) Sanjay Gupta, JE (Electric) Aman Kumar was constituted which submitted its report on April 6. It was sent to the Superintendent Engineer on April 8.
According to the investigation report, a total of Rs 9,20,12,978 were paid for the purchase of the lights, whereas, according to the assessment, the estimated cost of the same lights was Rs 5,83,27,264. In this way, there was a financial loss of Rs 3,36,92,714 in the purchase of lights. The SE submitted the final report to the director general of the department on April 20.
The Tribune News Service brings you the latest news, analysis and insights from the region, India and around the world. Follow the Tribune News Service for a wide-ranging coverage of events as they unfold, with perspective and clarity.
Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.
Most Read In 24 Hours
Don't Miss
View All
Top News
Phase-2 campaign ends, fate of Rahul Gandhi, Gajendra Shekhawat, HD Kumaraswamy, Hema Malini to be sealed
88 seats up for grabs across 13 states | Polling to conclude...
