Ex-sarpanch booked for embezzling funds

The police have registered a case against former president of the BJP’s Beet Mandal, also former sarpanch of Sihwan village, on the complaint of the Garhshankar BDPO sent to the Hoshiarpur SSP filed on the basis of an investigation report.

The police have registered a case against the suspect identified as Sihawan Pardeep Singh under the charges of embezzling panchayat funds by preparing forged bills of stone, gravel and sand purchase on the name of a firm owned by his brother.

Garhshankar BDPO Manjinder Kaur had sent the report of investigation, conducted by Executive Engineer, Panchayati Raj, to the Hoshiarpur SSP on August 31, seeking action against the suspect.

Sihawan Pardeep Singh had prepared bills in the name of Rana Building Material Supplier, Sihwan, for purchasing stone, sand and gravel for the development works carried out by the panchayat in the village.

The said firm was reportedly owned by his brother. The inquiry officer found that the former sarpanch Sihawan Pardeep Singh had prepared bills to embezzle panchayat funds. He also found during inquiry that Rana Building Material Supplier’s shop was not located in Sihwan village and all bills were without GST number. On basis of the complaint, a case was registered against former sarpanch at the Garhshankar police station.

Meanwhile, former BJP MP Avinash Rai Khanna condemned registration of a “false” FIR against Garhshankar mandal president Pradeep Rangeela by the police under the pressure of the state government. He said it now seemed that jungle raj had been established in Punjab. Khanna, terming the FIR as a tool of political vendetta, said leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were frustrated and had started bullying BJP workers in order to forcible induct them into their party fold. He said this was a sheer murder of the democracy by AAP leaders.