SE, XEN, DCFA of Municipal Corporation Ludhiana on charges of embezzlement of Rs 3 crore. Vigilance Bureau filed a corruption case against, XEN arrested

Chandigarh, October 15, 2024:

3,16,58,421 against Superintendent Engineer Rajinder Singh (now retired), Executive Engineer (Axion) Ranbir Singh and Deputy Controller Finance and Accounts (DCFA) Pankaj Garg posted at Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana. A corruption case has been registered on the charge of embezzlement of Rs. Axion Ranbir Singh has been arrested in this case and will be produced in court tomorrow.
Giving information in this regard, the spokesperson of the State Vigilance Bureau here today said that this case against the said accused has been registered after investigating the complaint number 359/2023 filed by Jaspinder Singh, Electric Pump Driver, Zone C, Ludhiana Municipal Corporation.
The complainant had alleged that Axion Ranbir Singh, posted in the Operations and Maintenance Branch, had made payments to the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) for various tube well works. . 3,16,58,421 was received as advance from the accounts from May 2021 to September 2022 but these funds were embezzled with mutual collusion by the officials.
He further said that during the investigation, the Vigilance Bureau was asked by PSPCL for tubewell related works in Ludhiana city. No document was found relating to any proposal or demand for payment of advance amount but these funds were received from Axion Ranbir Singh. He said that as per the government procedure, the concerned Junior Engineer (JE) or Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) should have prepared the necessary proposal and submitted it to the concerned Axion through the appropriate system, but the said No such procedure was carried out by the accused for the purpose of misappropriation of government funds for their personal interests.
During the investigation, it has come to light that Axion Ranbir Singh himself made a notation on the file of PSPCL. had submitted a bogus demand and forwarded it to Superintendent Engineer (SE) Rajinder Singh for approval of senior municipal officials. S.E. Rajinder Singh did not verify the documents sent with the file regarding receipt of payment of advance amount and forwarded the file for approval of Joint Commissioner, Additional Commissioner and Commissioner of Municipal Corporation. Accused Axion and S.E. Despite being aware of the rules of his department, misusing his official position, forwarded the case to higher authorities for approval. Further, the then Joint Commissioner, Additional Commissioner and Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation had sanctioned these cases without examining/scrutinizing the documents or facts on file.
The spokesman said that after the approval of the municipal commissioner, the file for the payment of the provisional advance amount in the year 2021-2022 was submitted to the then DCFA in charge of the accounting branch. Pankaj Garg was referred for release through case-based system as the advance amount was related to works of 42 tubewells.
DCFA duty was to scrutinize all the documents attached to the file before finalizing the advance payments but he did not raise any objection in this regard and abused his authority. The investigation also found that DCFA Axion and S.E. Bills related to temporary advances were passed in connivance with and the amount was transferred to two bank accounts of the Municipal Corporation.
He further said that it is very surprising that the accused Axion Ranbir Singh obtained an amount of Rs.3,16,58,421 on different dates through checks to himself from the accounts of the Municipal Corporation and embezzled the funds with mutual collusion. .
It is worth mentioning that when a complaint was made to the Vigilance Bureau about this after three years, Axion Ranbir Singh paid the said amount to M.C. started depositing in Ludhiana account and he deposited an amount of Rs.3,12,23,729 in two months from 30.01.2024 to 21.03.2024. He further said that as per the records of the Municipal Corporation, Rs 4,34,692 of provisional advance is still due to the said accused Axion Ranbir Singh.
In this regard, all the above accused are Superintendent Engineer Rajinder Singh, Axion Ranbir Singh, and DCFA. Section 13(1) and Section 13(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act and IPC against Pankaj Garg at Thana Vigilance Bureau Ludhiana Range. FIR under section 409, 465, 466, 467, 468, 471, 120-B. Case number 32 dated 14.10.2024 has been registered. He said that efforts are being made to arrest other accused and during the investigation of this case, the role of other suspected officials posted at Ludhiana Municipal Corporation at that time will also be investigated.