B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Probe ordered into pension scam in F’kot village
Faridkot, April 9
The Director, Department of Social Security, has ordered an inquiry into a case of alleged huge misappropriation of pension in Kot Sukhia village of Faridkot. As there were allegations that many "ghost" pensions were claimed by the families even though their kin had been dead for years and the pensions of many widows and the physically challenged were being embezzled, the director asked the District Social Security Officer (DSSO), Faridkot, to conduct the inquiry.

Liquor smuggling
Role of excise officials comes under scanner 
Moga/Ferozepur, April 9
A strong lobby in the excise and taxation department is reportedly trying to protect some of their senior colleagues posted in the Ferozepur division who have come under the scanner in the smuggling of liquor from outside the state even as the Punjab government has initiated a high-level probe.

Farmer conned
Swindlers sell fake gold coins for Rs 14 lakh
Faridkot, April 9
A gang of fraudsters robbed a farmer in Faridkot of Rs 14 lakh by selling him fake gold coins after convincing him that they belonged to the Mughal era.

Youth Cong workers hold protest against rise in prices of sand, gravel
Muktsar, April 9
District Youth Congress activists today staged a protest against the state government for increasing the price of sand and gravel after putting these on a rehri at Ghas Mandi Nehru Chowk here today.

 Probe ordered into pension scam in F’kot village
Balwant Garg
Tribune News Service

Faridkot, April 9
The Director, Department of Social Security, has ordered an inquiry into a case of alleged huge misappropriation of pension in Kot Sukhia village of Faridkot.

As there were allegations that many "ghost" pensions were claimed by the families even though their kin had been dead for years and the pensions of many widows and the physically challenged were being embezzled, the director asked the District Social Security Officer (DSSO), Faridkot, to conduct the inquiry.

To conduct the probe, DSSO Avtar Singh today reached Kot Sukhia village and recorded the statements of many eligible pensioners who were allegedly duped of their pension amount. During the inquiry, it was found that a large number of beneficiaries did not receive their pension amount but in the official records, they were shown as the recipients of the pension.

During the inquiry, it was also found that many of the widows and handicapped persons in Kot Sukhia village had not received Rs 2,200 each which was allotted to them as special benefit during the financial year 2010. Kot Sukhia village was allotted Rs 1.09 lakh as part of the special pension benefit but a major portion of the amount was allegedly misappropriated.

Today, hours after many of these "duped" pensioners gave their statements to the DSSO, some of them were reportedly approached by the alleged fraudsters with Rs 2,200 in cash. They wanted the widows and the handicapped to receive the money and withdraw 
their statements, recorded before the DSSO.

Avtar Singh, DSSO, Faridkot, said the statements of the pensioners have been recorded and the inquiry report will be submitted to the director, social security department, Punjab.

The pension scam in Kot Sukhia was exposed recently when during a legal awareness camp, conducted by the District Legal Service Authority, huge swindling of funds meant for various central and state government schemes was unravelled.

It was found at the camp that while some young persons were getting old-age pension, many elderly persons were not getting their due pension. Fake receipts were prepared to show that the pension amount was distributed among the widows and the handicapped.

As the legal awareness camp exposed many rots in the distribution of pension, on February 28, the Chairman, Punjab Legal Service Authority (PLSA) directed all district and sessions judges in the state to hold similar camps to detect the misappropriation so as to benefit the rural masses. 

 Liquor smuggling
Role of excise officials comes under scanner 
Kulwinder Sandhu
Tribune News Service

Moga/Ferozepur, April 9
A strong lobby in the excise and taxation department is reportedly trying to protect some of their senior colleagues posted in the Ferozepur division who have come under the scanner in the smuggling of liquor from outside the state even as the Punjab government has initiated a high-level probe.

As per the details available, as many as 1500 cases of liquor were recovered by the mobile wing of the department in the Ferozepur division a few weeks back and the stock was handed over to the excise authorities for action.

The market value of the seized liquor has been roughly estimated at Rs 50 lakh.

Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner (AETC), Fazilka, Madan Mohan Singh, revealed that a penalty has been imposed as per the provisions of the Excise Act on one Manoj Kumar who owned the stock. Manoj is said to be an employee of a local contractor.

It was learnt that a senior official of the department posted at Ferozepur had protected a local liquor contractor who actually smuggled the liquor.

At the same time, no decision has so far been taken on whether to destroy the seized liquor, auction it or sell it to recover the excise duty as it was smuggled from the nearby states. It was still lying in the custody of the department at Ferozepur.

Moreover, how the smuggled liquor entered Punjab's territory is another question, which raises doubts over the role of the officials posted at the inter-state barriers.

The matter has also come to the notice of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal who holds the charge of the excise and taxation department.

Special secretary in the department, JS Kahlon, himself rushed to Ferozepur a few days back and held an inquiry into the alleged role of some excise officials.

The inquiry was still pending with the state government for necessary action.

When contacted, HS Sidhu, the Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner (AETC) of the mobile wing of the department that seized the smuggled liquor on the basis of a tip-off, confirmed that the statements of some officials, including him, were recorded by JS Kahlon but he was not aware of any further details.

 Farmer conned
Swindlers sell fake gold coins for Rs 14 lakh

Faridkot, April 9
A gang of fraudsters robbed a farmer in Faridkot of Rs 14 lakh by selling him fake gold coins after convincing him that they belonged to the Mughal era.

According to the information available, a week back, when Yadwinder Singh of Niamiwala village in Faridkot district was offered 3200 ‘antique’ gold coins at a highly subsidised rate, the farmer thought he had stumbled upon a treasure trove but within hours after buying these coins and making the payment, he was sulking for losing the huge sum.

In a complaint to the police, the farmer revealed that some days back, two men and a woman visited him. They offered to sell him a treasure of gold coins saying they had discovered them while digging in the Malerkotla area. The cheats offered two genuine samples of gold coins and asked him to get their authenticity tested by a goldsmith.

Yadwinder Singh, the farmer, picked the bait and followed the trail. The goldsmith verified the genuineness of the coin. For the next two days, Yadwinder Singh and the cheats were busy in telephonic conversations and finally, the deal was negotiated at Rs 14 lakh.

But within hours of making the payment, the farmer found that all the coins, except for the samples, were mere alloy polished to make them look like pure gold. The victim tried to get back to the cheats on their mobile phone but it was switched off.

Police inquiry revealed that the SIM number and the mobile phone was used exclusively to strike a deal with Yadwinder Singh.

The mobile phone and SIM were never used before and after the deal, said Faridkot DSP Jaswinder Pal Sharma.

However, the police is investigating the case and found that the phone calls, made by the cheats, originated in the Malerkotla and Ludhiana area. — TNS

 Youth Cong workers hold protest against rise in prices of sand, gravel

Muktsar, April 9
District Youth Congress activists today staged a protest against the state government for increasing the price of sand and gravel after putting these on a rehri at Ghas Mandi Nehru Chowk here today.

Gurveer Singh Kaku Seerwali, president, Youth Congress, Muktsar, said, "The price of sand and gravel is touching the sky just because of ruling Badals and Bikram Majithia, who have their monopoly over the trade." The price of sand and gravel must come down, so that the dream of a poor man to build his own house can get fulfilled, he demanded. — TNS