Embezzlement of MGNREGA funds worth Rs 2.1 mn in Haryana's Nuh district

Embezzlement of funds amounting to over Rs 21 lakh under the MGNREGA scheme has come to the fore in Nuh district of Haryana with police finding some job cards issued in the name of dead people.

Police registered a case on Monday against nine people, including employees of the Panchayat and Irrigation Department and two bank officials.

Local villager Sukhbir Singh had filed a series of complaints to the government's public grievances and Haryana CM window portals, alleging that under the MGNREGA scheme in Nuh, funds are being released to people who had died about two-three years ago.

By making their job cards and opening their bank accounts illegally, a massive scam is taking place, it was alleged.

On Sukhbir's complaint, the Chief Minister's Flying Squad started an investigation and found that officials and employees of the Block Development and Panchayat Office, Indri, and the Irrigation Department made job cards of seven dead people and showed these persons working for the Indri and Khedli Kankar link drains.

The investigation revealed that seven job card holders Bishan Singh, Prakash, Hansraj, Mahipal, Ratiram, Hemraj, Mahendra, residents of Khedli Dausa village, had died while two other job card holders Ramautar and Jairam, residents of same village, were found on duty as conductors in the Haryana Roadways depot, Nuh, since 2008.

During investigation, it was revealed that embezzlement of Rs 21,28,651 had taken place by opening fake bank accounts.

The accused included a junior engineer, a subdivisional officer of the Irrigation Department, an accountant and a bank official.

An FIR has been registered against all nine accused under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using forged document), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC at the Rojka Meo police station.

Action will be taken as per the law, said Nuh SP Varun Singla.