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Ludhiana: Seven Municipal Corporation employees booked for embezzling ₹2.18 crore
Seven Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (MC) employees along with bogus employees were booked by Division Number 5 police for their alleged involvement in a scam that resulted in the unauthorised transfer of arrears and step-up payments totalling ₹2.18 crore to 44 bogus employees.
Seven employees of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation along with bogus employees have been booked for allegedly embezzling ₹2.18 crore, police said on Saturday.
Seven Municipal Corporation (MC) employees along with bogus employees were booked by Division Number 5 police for their alleged involvement in a scam that resulted in the unauthorised transfer of arrears and step-up payments totalling ₹2.18 crore to 44 bogus employees. The complaint leading to the action was filed by the municipal corporation commissioner.
The accused individuals, identified as Rajesh Kumar (clerk, now sanitary inspector with MC Jalandhar), Hem Raj (clerk and now sanitary inspector), Harsh Grover (clerk), Manish Malhotra (clerk), Kamal Kumar (safai sewak), Mintu Kumar Bunty (safai sewak), and Ramesh Kumar Bobby (safai sewak), face charges under sections 420 and 409 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Police officials stated that the case was registered based on the commissioner’s complaint, revealing the involvement of MC employees in tampering with government records. This manipulation resulted in the substantial transfer of step-up payments to individuals identified as ‘bogus employees’ within the MC health branch.
Following the registration of the FIR on Friday, the MC commissioner directed department officials to initiate the recovery process for the funds transferred to the 44 bogus employees, where significant step-up payments were made.
An MC official disclosed that while many of the bogus employees have withdrawn the transferred funds from their accounts, the recovery investigation is ongoing, as these employees have accounts in various banks.
Jagjit Singh, the station house officer of Division Number 5, stated, “We have registered an FIR against the bogus employees and seven MC employees under sections 420 and 409 of IPC. The investigation into the activities of the bogus employees is currently underway.”
