Mohali, January 3
It seems the Punjab vigilance bureau is penny wise and pound foolish. A sub-divisional officer (SDO) who blew the whistle on a scam worth crores was arrested by the bureau in an alleged graft case. While the SDO has been suspended, his own report on the utilisation of border area funds — exposing what is probably the tip of the iceberg — is gathering dust.

Maybe this has something to do with the fact that the SDO Navdeep Singh Gill was reportedly called by two Punjab cabinet ministers to “take it easy” when he was preparing his report. The SDO’s report, a copy of which is with The Tribune, shows how funds received under the “Punjab Nirman Scheme” were never used despite utlilisation certificates having been issued for these works.

In the Gandiwind block of Taran Taran district in villages where drainage lines were to be laid, these were never constructed. In villages where roads were to be built, the amount spent on the construction was found to be far less than what was received.

The report filed by the SDO to the deputy commissioner Taran Taran pointed out that funds worth lakhs had gone missing, as the works on the ground showed that these had not been used.

The SDO also told the DC that Gandiwind’s block development and panchayat officer (BDPO) Rasal Singh and the two village development officers Tejinder Kumar and Shubhprakash were responsible for these works and their role should be probed.

A junior engineer Surinder Singh, posted in the area, also gave an affidavit stating that his signatures were forged on utilisation certificates. He added that he had never inspected any of the works carried out in the area using these grants.

Another report filed by an SDO in Patti to the DC Taran Taran showed how money worth lakhs released for the upgradation of civil hospitals in the Bhikhivind block had not been utilised. While some of these grants had been received as part of cattle fair funds, some amount had also been received from the historical village funds.

Following recommendations of the ADC (development), the DC Ajoy Shama wrote to the SSP almost a fortnight ago stating, “This is a clear case of fraud and embezzlement of public money. The SSP is requested to lodge an FIR under relevant sections of the IPC against Rasal Singh and Tejinder Singh.”

The SSP Taran Taran sent the request to the SSP Amritsar, as the Gandiwind area did not fall under his jurisdiction. “We had sent the SDO’s report for legal opinion. The SP (detective) is looking into it,” said the SSP Amritsar Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh.

Meanwhile, one of the two VDOs, Shubhprakash contacted the Vigilance Bureau and got Gill arrested on December 26. “Shubhprakash alleged that Gill had demanded Rs 20,000 to prepare a favourable report of the works carried out under him. Subhprakash admitted that Gill had already filed a report that went against him. Gill was arrested red-handed accepting the bribe,” said SP (vigilance) Amritsar Sukhdev Singh. The SDO was suspended, but following a protest by other SDOs Rasal Singh and Shubhprakash were also suspended.

Sources add that over Rs 450 crore has been received in four border districts of Punjab from the Government of India under various schemes.

“Our officers are finding it impossible to compile reports regarding the utilisation of these funds due to political pressure,” said a senior officer of the border area. Following the suspension of SDO Gill, the new SDO posted in the area has also reportedly received threats to stop asking for records and utilisation certificates.