'Fake transactions' in Barnala coop society, secretary booked

Tribune News Service

Parvesh Sharma

Barnala, March 6

A financial scam of around Rs 1 crore in a cooperative society here has come to the fore wherein its secretary allegedly conducted transactions in the accounts of 17 dead farmers and issued receipts for lakhs of rupees he received as cash from members which he did not deposit in the bank.

Demanding a high-level inquiry into the scam, residents and victims have expressed anguish in the delay in the arrest of the accused even after the registration of FIR. They have started an indefinite protest in front of the society office.

There are around 900 residents of Malliya and Pakhoke villages as members in Pakhoke Cooperative Society. On February 24, the Barnala Sadar police registered a case under Section 420 of the IPC against society secretary Gurcharan Singh for allegedly committing a fraud of Rs 47,800. However, the inquiry launched by the Cooperative Department’s team has detected more financial irregularities. “After the death of my father Mahinder Singh in 2019, we closed his account. However, the secretary conducted transactions in the account. He used the accounts of total 17 deceased farmers for transactions of worth Rs 20.32 lakh,” claimed Charan Singh, a Pakhoke resident.

To put pressure on the Barnala administration for a thorough probe, area residents have formed a struggle committee also. “The secretary has shown he distributed Rs 40,000 for cattle feed to each of 800 members, but not a single member benefited. Besides, we have collected the details of lakhs of rupees for which he issued receipts after receiving cash from area residents, but did not deposit in the bank. We will intensify our agitation for the recovery of money from the accused,” said Chamkaur Singh, Barnala president of BKU (Ugrahan).

Confirming that the accused conducted fraudulent transactions in the accounts of deceased farmers, Cooperative Department Inspector Kiranjot Kaur, who is a member of the inquiry team, said: “Prima facie, the fraud seems to be of around Rs 1 crore. However, the investigation is still on. We have started the process to attach the properties of Gurcharn Singh,” said SDM Barnala Varjeet Walia.

Pakhoke police post incharge ASI Satwinderpal Singh said they were conducting raids to arrest the accused.

Dead farmers’ accounts used

An FIR has been registered against Pakhoke Cooperative Society secretary Gurcharn Singh for allegedly conducting transactions in the accounts of 17 dead farmers and issuing receipts for lakhs of rupees he received as cash from members which he did not deposit in the bank.

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