Vigilance Bureau registers case against three accused for accepting Rs 23 lakh bribe from candidates during Panchayat elections

Vigilance Bureau registers case against three accused for accepting Rs 23 lakh bribe from candidates during Panchayat elections

Co-accused hotel owner arrested

Chandigarh, December 24, 2024 –

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has registered a case against Gulab Singh, SDO Irrigation Department, Ferozepur, who was deployed as Returning Officer (RO) for block Ghall Khurd, Davinder Singh, Sub-Inspector of Agriculture Department, Ferozepur, serving as Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) for the same block and Rahul Narang, owner of Nivediam Hotel for accepting a bribe of Rs 23 lakh to refrain from rejecting nomination papers for the elections of village sarpanch and panchayat members. In this case Gulab Singh, SDO, has already been arrested and is currently in jail and co-accused hotel owner Rahul Narang has been arrested today.

Disclosing this here today an official spokesperson of the Vigilance Bureau (VB) said  the case was registered following verification of a complaint. During the investigation, it was found that the complainants, Hardeep Singh and his brother Jagdev Singh, had filed nomination papers for the sarpanch election of village Toot in Ferozepur district. Similarly, Sukhjeet Kaur, Rashpal Singh, Manjeet Kaur, and Jagmohan Singh had filed nomination papers for panchayat member positions of this village.

Giving more details he added that after submitting the forms, the complainant visited the house of accused Davinder Singh, Sub-Inspector of Agriculture Department, in village Wazidpur. There, he met both accused Davinder Singh and aforementioned Gulab Singh, SDO. The two officials demanded Rs 15 lakh as a bribe to refrain from rejecting their nomination papers. They directed the complainant to deliver the bribe money to Rahul Narang, the owner of Nivediam Hotel.

In the presence of his brother Jagdev Singh and others, the complainant handed over Rs 15 lakh to Rahul Narang. However, when the complainant later inquired about the nominations for other panchayat members, Rahul Narang demanded an additional Rs 8 lakh (Rs 2 lakh per member) as a bribe.

The spokesperson added that during the investigation, it was found that Gulab Singh and Davinder Singh had abused their official positions and, in collusion with hotel owner Rahul Narang, extorted Rs 23 lakh from the complainant, Hardeep Singh. Consequently, the Vigilance Bureau has registered a case against all the three accused under the Prevention of Corruption Act at the Ferozepur Range Police Station. Co-accused hotel owner Rahul Narang has been arrested and would be produced in the court tomorrow. Further investigation was under progress, he added.