Wazirabad sarpanch booked for fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 4.97L

The district police have booked Wazirabad village sarpanch Yadwinder Singh for allegedly withdrawing Rs 4.97 lakh from a bank with forged signatures of the Block Development & Panchayat Officer (BDPO), Sirhind.

Deputy Commissioner Dr Sona Thind has marked the complaint filed by BDPO Deepshikha to the Senior Superintendent of Police to enquire and register the case. The sarpanch, who is absconding along with his family, has been booked under Section 318(4), 338, 336(3), 340(2) and 61 of the BNS.

It is worth mentioning that 130 acres in Wazirabad was acquired during the Congress regime by PSIEC for setting up an industrial park. An FDR worth Rs 52 crore was made by the village panchayat on the condition that the accrued interest of the amount would be used for development works in the village.

In his complaint, local MLA Lakhbir Singh Rai has said huge amount has been withdrawn from the account and urged for investigation.

Meanwhile, former MLA Kuljit Singh Nagra, addressing the media here today, alleged that more than Rs 32 crore had been withdrawn from the panchayat account allegedly in connivance with local leaders and officials. He alleged that he had been filling RTIs with the Panchayat Department since February 6, 2023, but no reply had been received so far in spite of the direction by the State Information Commission.

He said there was a huge scandal and neither the bank nor the panchayat officers were providing any information despite repeated pleas. He alleged that during the recent panchayat elections the papers of Congress candidates were rejected allegedly under the influence of local AAP leaders and Yadwinder Singh was made sarpanch. He said Yadwinder had a stud farm which was frequently visited by AAP leaders and officials. He urged the CM to initiate a vigilance enquiry.

SSP Subham Aggarwal said an SIT, led by DSP(D) and comprising financial and legal experts, had been formed and no culprit would be spared.

Patiala