Punjab: Booked for graft, ‘Badal favourite’ lands in row over date of birth
Surinderpal was recruited as a junior engineer in Punjab Mandi Board on January 28, 1993. “During investigation, it has been found that in the service book, his date of birth had been recorded as December 11, 1971, whereas, his actual date of birth is December 11, 1967.”
First, he was booked for amassing properties worth hundreds of crores, and now he finds himself on the wrong side of the law over his age. A former chief engineer of the Punjab Mandi Board and Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), Surinderpal Singh, has been booked by the Punjab vigilance bureau (VB) for getting the government job by submitting a forged birth certificate, a VB spokesman said here on Monday.
“The VB had already registered a case against him for abusing his official position and amassing huge wealth with ill-gotten money by illegally favouring some construction companies besides transacting in the accounts of his family and their bogus firms to adjust this ill-gotten money,” the spokesman said.
Now, fresh investigations had revealed that Singh got the government job using a forged birth certificate, he said. “Accused Surinderpal Singh was recruited as a junior engineer in Punjab Mandi Board on January 28, 1993. During investigation, it has been found that in the service book, his date of birth had been recorded as December 11, 1971, whereas, his actual date of birth is December 11, 1967,” the spokesman pointed out, citing his academic degrees. “Investigation reveals that Surinderpal Singh, in connivance with officials of the PSEB (Punjab School Education Board) and Punjab Mandi Board, got his date of birth altered,” he added.
In this matter, the bureau has registered a case against Surinderpal and officials of the PSEB and the Punjab Mandi Board under sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120B of IPC and under the Prevention of Corruption Act at the VB police station (flying squad-I), SAS Nagar, the spokesman said.
The VB had last month unearthed at least 92 properties worth crores allegedly amassed by Surinderpal; these were allegedly purchased by five firms floated by him in the name of his family members and associates. In addition, Rs 57 crore was deposited in three companies owned by his family. The properties were purchased between 2001 and 2016.