6 including BDPO and Panchayat Chairperson booked in ₹1.80 Cr misappropriation case
Ferozepur, December 14, 2024: In an ongoing investigation into the interlock tiles scam at the BDPO office, six individuals, including Kirandeep Kaur, BDPO; Jaswinder Kaur, Chairperson of the Panchayat Samiti; and four data entry operators, have been booked for alleged misappropriation of ₹1,80,87,591.
Digital signature certificates of a block development and panchayat officer are said to have been misused to facilitate the scam in May-June this year.
The misappropriated amount was transferred to the bank account of a private firm, Ranjit Tile Industries, through ‘unauthorised’ digital signatures. The report also highlighted the involvement of multiple employees from the Ferozepur block development and panchayat office (BDPO), additional deputy commissioner’s office and private vendors.
The scam reportedly involved fraudulent online payments to Ranjit Tile Industry, despite no work being executed. The digital signature certificates of a former BDPO, Kirandeep Kaur, were misused to facilitate the unauthorised transactions even after her transfer on January 1. The transactions, totalling ₹1.80 crores, were carried out between May 26 and June 23 this year under the guise of payments to a contractor operating a tile factory in Mamdot, Ferozepur, while no material was procured.
The investigation revealed that essential records to validate the payments were missing. However, no action has yet been taken against the contractor involved in the case.
The other accused include Manjinder Singh, Rekha Devi, Shubh Deepak Bajaj, and Jaspreet Kaur, all associated with the Panchayati data system.
Following an in-depth inquiry, after six months, the accused have been charged under Sections 318(4), 316(5), 61(2), 238 BNS, and 65 of the IT Act, based on a complaint by the BDPO. Harinder Singh, the Investigating Officer (IO), oversees the probe.
While no arrests have been made so far, authorities are conducting a comprehensive investigation to uncover the full extent of the financial irregularities and identify additional culpable parties.