Co-accused hotel owner arrested
Chandigarh, December 24, 2024: The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has arrested Gulab Singh, SDO of the Irrigation Department, and Rahul Narang, owner of Nivediam Hotel, for accepting a Rs 23 lakh bribe to avoid rejecting nomination papers for village sarpanch and panchayat elections. Gulab Singh, who served as the Returning Officer (RO) for block Ghall Khurd, is already in jail, while the bureau arrested Rahul Narang today. They also named Davinder Singh, Sub-Inspector of the Agriculture Department and Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) for the same block, as a co-accused in the case.
The authorities registered the case after verifying a complaint.
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.
two officials demanded Rs 15 lakh as a bribe
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.
the complainant handed over Rs 15 lakh to Rahul Narang
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.
VB registered a case against all the three accused
The investigation revealed that Gulab Singh and Davinder Singh abused their official positions and, in collusion with hotel owner Rahul Narang, extorted Rs 23 lakh from the complainant, Hardeep Singh, the spokesperson stated. The Vigilance Bureau has consequently registered a case against all three accused under the Prevention of Corruption Act at the Ferozepur Range Police Station. Authorities have arrested co-accused hotel owner Rahul Narang and will produce him in court tomorrow. Further investigation was under progress, he added.
