SHRIGANGANAGAR: The Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered a case against the former Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat 17 K.N.D.-A and a former Village Development Officer (Gram Vikas Officer) following an extensive investigation into the multi-year embezzlement of public development funds. Physical verification of rural infrastructure projects exposed paper-only compliance and material cost inflation totaling ₹3,45,945.
The First Information Report (FIR) was formally serialized under Sections 13(1)(d) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, alongside Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant), 420 (cheating), and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Background of the Case
The anti-graft case traces back to a comprehensive written complaint filed on February 12, 2019, by Satish Kumar, a local resident. Kumar’s petition to the ACB headquarters described a sweeping network of administrative forgery occurring across infrastructure, welfare schemes, and school sports installations inside the Ghadsana Panchayat Samiti.
Following preliminary administrative reviews, mandatory statutory clearance under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act was granted by the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department on February 29, 2024, triggering a deep-dive probe by consecutive Deputy Superintendents of Police.
Modus Operandi and Missing Records
A three-member technical inquiry committee was formalized by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Zila Parishad Shriganganagar on October 14, 2022, consisting of Block Development Officer Shivbhagwan Regar, Assistant Accounts Officer Ashok Kumar, and Assistant Engineer Jaspreet Singh. The experts mapped financial approvals against the actual structures on the ground.
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The investigation exposed systematic irregularities in several key projects:
- Drinking Water Tank Forgery: Administrative and financial sanctions for a public drinking water tank (Diggi) near Jagdish Dhayal’s agricultural field in 19 K.N.D. were processed for ₹94,000 under the signatures of former Sarpanch Indra Devi and former Secretary Onkar Singh. While ₹29,832 was shown as distributed via cash payments to labourers under muster roll number 18996, on-site measurement evaluations revealed that a chunk of the material wasn’t utilized, establishing a recovery value of ₹28,073. Essential legal parameters, including Measurement Books (MB), Utilization Certificates (UC), and Completion Certificates (CC), were entirely missing from the official file.
- Historical Duplication Scheme: A secondary water tank audit near Jagdish Godara’s field uncovered cash expenditures under muster rolls dating back to January 2015. The inquiry committee calculated an inflated billing fraud of ₹36,557. This particular duplication indicted former Secretary Onkar Singh and a previous Sarpanch, Surajpal Singh. However, because former Sarpanch Surajpal Singh has since passed away, legal proceedings against him stand abated.
- Gaushala Boundary Wall Inflations: On April 25, 2017, a budget allocation of ₹3,32,000 was sanctioned for constructing a boundary wall and entrance gate at a local shelter house (Gaushala). The committee discovered that a baseline structure had already been constructed years prior using public donations. By floating multi-staged duplicate muster rolls, the public servants extracted ₹1,90,477 of government funds without executing matching infrastructural extensions.
- The Stadium Extortion: A major fund diversion occurred within the local Government Higher Secondary School premises. An established basketball stadium existed on the grounds. However, records show a fresh financial layout of ₹5,000,000 was re-sanctioned on September 4, 2015, for construction on paper. The probe group traced a clean cash siphoning (outright embezzlement) of ₹90,838 out of the fund allocation, finding zero ground improvements.
Acquittals on Public Exploitation Claims
While the audit substantiated aggressive financial fraud, several social welfare allegations listed in the initial 2019 complaint were found to be unsubstantiated during the inquiry. This included assertions that the management charged a standard ₹7,000 backhander to approve Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration cards. Similarly, complaints about cutting ₹12,000 out of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana grants and distributing poor-quality toilet construction materials to influential locals could not be backed up by verifiable proof.
Current Investigation Status
The formal un-numbered FIR was converted into a regular case at the C.P.S. Jaipur desk on May 18, 2026, under the direction of SP Piyush Dixit.
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The primary accused public servants have been listed as:
- Indra Devi, wife of Santosh Kumar, who served as the officiating Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat 17 K.N.D.-A during the check window.
- Onkar Singh, son of Lal Singh, the Gram Vikas Officer stationed inside the Ghadsana cluster.
The case has been transferred to Additional Superintendent of Police Sudha Palawat (ACB Hanumangarh) to finalize the remaining field investigations and handle upcoming trial submissions before the Special Sessions Anti-Corruption Court in Shriganganagar.