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Grandson of BJP's Satpal Gosain
indicted in graft probe
WSN Network
LUDHIANA: Not
long back, Punjab Assembly's Deputy Speaker Satpal Gosain of the BJP
was in the headlines when he led a crusade against an IAS officer
posted in Ludhiana alleging there were complaints of corruption
against him. Now, his own grandson is facing charges of corruption.
An inquiry
conducted by the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (LMC) has indicted
Sunny, Gosain's grandson, for allegedly submitting forged bills for
civil works, and even receiving payments on many of them. The report
says the three accused have claimed Rs 75.78 lakh from the LMC for
works already paid for.
Some of the
bills bear fake signatures of officials. The inquiry, conducted by
Additional Commissioner Kanwalpreet Kaur, was initially ordered into
a suspected fake bill of Rs 9 lakh, but ended up unearthing a "scam"
of over Rs 1.3 crore. All three contractors investigated have been
found guilty of submitting fake bills.
The confidential
report has also indicted Superintending Engineer Arun Sharma and
accounts officials for making payments without checking the details.
In his statement
to the inquiry officer, Sharma has admitted lapses, but claimed the
"payments were made under political pressure". The report is silent
on the politician who brought about the "pressure".
The inquiry has
found that the accused in connivance with officials have even
"stolen" official records.
Surprisingly,
the inquiry report has made no recommendation for any action.
16
December 2009
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