In a major breakthrough, the Haryana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Faridabad has busted a multi-crore scam involving three officials from the Panchayat department. The arrested officials include Shamsher Singh, a recently retired account officer and section officer; Rakesh Kumar, a clerk from the BDPO office in Hasanpur; and Satpal Singh, a treasury clerk from the BDPO office in Hodal.
Authorities seized Rs 3.65 crore in cash, gold ornaments worth Rs 6.50 lakh, and incriminating documents from Shamsher Singh’s residence in Panchkula’s Sector 26. The scam reportedly revolves around a fraudulent Rs 16.26 crore payment claim for salaries and employee provident fund disbursements linked to tubewell operators.
The scam came to light in November when the headquarters questioned the payments made by Rakesh Kumar, who allegedly routed the funds to an agency’s account engaged by the district unit instead of the intended recipients. Following an investigation, the ACB arrested Rakesh Kumar first; his interrogation led to the arrest of Shamsher Singh and Satpal Singh.
The probe is ongoing, with officials suggesting the scam might involve other officials and districts. The vendor linked to these transactions has yet to be questioned, indicating a potentially deeper financial fraud within the Panchayat department.
