Panchayat fund scam: VB's lookout circular against ex-MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur

Patiala, February 28

The Vigilance Bureau (VB) has issued a lookout circular (LOC) against former Congress MLA from Ghanaur Madan Lal Jalalpur, who is allegedly on the radar in the multi-crore panchayat fund scam. The VB confirmed that the name of the former MLA was added to the FIR, following preliminary probe, indicating corruption.

Settling political scores

It’s a false case and sheer harassment. We have faith in the judiciary. Rather than looking into the corruption of their own MLA, who took crores of rupees from contractors last year, they are hounding us to settle political scores. — Gagandeep Jalalpur, Son of the former MLA

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The addition of Jalalpur’s name to the FIR comes almost over a month after the VB inspected his two palatial houses.

Sources said Jalalpur had been untraceable from January 18 and enough evidence had been gathered against him on the basis of grilling of contractors and officials arrested. “Despite our best efforts, the former MLA is evading arrest. Therefore, we have issued a LOC,” the VB officials said.

On May 26, 2022, the VB had registered an FIR under Sections 406, 420, 409, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC and Sections 13 (1) A and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act to probe misappropriation of panchayat funds.

In August 2022, Sarpanch Harjit Kaur of Akari village in Ghanaur was accused of allegedly embezzling panchayat funds amounting to the tune of Rs 12.24 crore in the name of development works.

The VB stated that Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority had acquired 1,104 acres (shamlat land) of five villages for construction of the Amritsar-Kolkata integrated corridor.

Two sarpanches and eight panchayat members of Akari and Sehri villages, 10 firms and four persons were booked for supplying material and labour on the pretext of development works.

The accused included Akari sarpanch Harjit Kaur, panchayat members Charanjit Kaur, Avtar Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Darshan Singh and Kulwinder Kaur and panchayat secretary Jaswinder Singh. All were posted in the Block Development and Panchayat Office, Shambhu. The other accused included Sehri village sarpanch Manjit Singh, panchayat members Jatinder Rani, Lakhveer Singh and Pawandeep Kaur, panchayat secretary Lakhminder Singh and assistant engineer Dharminder Kumar.

The VB stated that compensation amount of Rs 285 crore was given to the panchayats of five villages on account of the acquired land from 2019 to 2022. Apart from this, the cultivators were given displacement allowance of Rs 97.8 crore at the rate of Rs 9 lakh per acre.

“Following complaints by villagers that development works were not done, a probe was initiated and it came to the fore that the accused embezzled the funds in connivance with officials of the Panchayat Department,” said a senior VB official.

Gagandeep Jalalpur, son of the former MLA, said, “It’s a false case and sheer harassment. We have faith in judiciary. Rather than looking into the corruption of their own MLA who accepted crores from the contractors last year, they are hounding us to settle political scores.”