After salary scam in Panchkula district, Haryana Home Dept for audit of all Home Guard units
In a new development in the salary scam involving Haryana’s Department of Home Guard and Civil Defence, the Home Department has requested the Principal Accountant General (Audit) of Haryana to conduct a special audit of all Home Guard units across the state.
During a recent hearing, the Home Guards Department informed Haryana Lokayukta Justice Hari Pal Verma that a final response from the auditing authority was still awaited. “The Commandant General of Home Guards and Director of Civil Defence, Haryana, Chandigarh, shall update the authority on further progress in the matter before the next hearing,” directed the Lokayukta.
Modus operandi
In Panchkula district, Home Guards are employed for a maximum period of 89 days at a time at one place. After that, a new set of home guards is deputed. Salaries are prepared based on the duty days
Whistleblower Narender Kumar Gautam, then Centre Commander in Panchkula, complained to the Lokayukta that the salary branch calculated the salaries for periods when the home guards were not on duty, based on falsified records
After crediting the salary to their accounts, the guards were informed that the amounts had been wrongly credited and were asked to return the money in cash, which was never deposited in the exchequer
Home Guards serve as an auxiliary force to the police, assisting in maintaining internal security. It was whistleblower Narender Kumar Gautam, then Centre Commander in Panchkula, who first exposed the fraud in salaries of Home Guards in a complaint to the Lokayukta in 2022.
In Panchkula district, Home Guards are employed in three different wings — District Commandant and Home Guards; the DCP office; and the Commandant General Home Guard in Chandigarh. They are employed for a maximum period of 89 days at a time. After that, a new set of home guards is deputed. Salaries are prepared based on the duty days for each home guard.
Regarding the scam’s modus operandi, Gautam explained to the Lokayukta that the salary branch first calculated the salaries for periods when the home guards were not on duty, based on falsified attendance records. After crediting these salaries to their accounts, the guards were informed by phone that the amounts had been wrongly credited and were asked to return the money. He alleged that officials then collected the salaries in cash but never deposited the funds in the exchequer, effectively misappropriating the money.
Gautam stated that he tried to inform his seniors about the fraud but to no avail. He also claimed he was offered illegal gratification and was intimidated with threats. He added that he feared for his life and that of his family members.
In November 2022, the Lokayukta asked the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to investigate the allegations. After a year-long inquiry, the ACB found that Gautam had conducted his own investigation and discovered that 73 home guards in Panchkula district had received salaries without being on duty. These guards were contacted by their seniors and others, and were asked to return the salaries, which they did in cash. They submitted affidavits to Gautam, who forwarded the information to his superiors.
Of the 73 home guards, 36 cooperated with the ACB investigation and provided statements. Of these, 35 admitted they had received salaries in their accounts and returned the money in cash to former Centre Commander Kanwar Pal and three others. Additionally, the ACB identified 10 more home guards who submitted affidavits confirming that they received salaries without being on duty and returned the money to their seniors.
It was revealed that of the Rs 8.83 lakh in misappropriated salaries, former Centre Commander Kanwar Pal allegedly took Rs 2.17 lakh, former Company Commander Tarsem Lal allegedly got Rs 3.03 lakh, Home Guard Chandan allegedly received Rs 1.44 lakh, and Havildar Krishan Rana allegedly took Rs 2.25 lakh. A case was registered in February this year against four individuals for cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and violations under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The ACB noted in the FIR that, since many home guards did not cooperate with the inquiry, the actual scope of the fraud couldn’t be found out and required further investigation.
Given that similar fraud might be occurring in other districts, DSP Rajesh Kumar from the office of the Commandant General of Home Guards and Civil Defence submitted before Lokayukta that the Additional Chief Secretary of the Home Department had requested a special audit of all Home Guard units across the state from the Principal Accountant General (Audit).
