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Allotment of 1.5-acre bungalow to Kanpur civic body peon under SIT lens
Kanpur commissioner of police Raghubir Lal said bungalow No. 1, located on the premises of Jagdishwar Hospital in Govind Nagar, was allotted to municipal peon Vinod Rawat in 2023. The bungalow is part of the corporation’s property at the hospital complex, which also houses its zonal office. According to civic officials, the accommodation was intended for Class I and gazetted officers. Rawat could not be contacted for his response.
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A nearly 1.5-acre bungalow meant for Class I and gazetted officers was allotted by the Kanpur Municipal Corporation to one of its peons in 2023, and the property has remained in his possession for at least three years. The allotment has now come under the scanner of a police inquiry into alleged corruption in the civic body, with investigators examining who approved it, why it was made and why an earlier inquiry into the matter did not lead to any action.
Kanpur commissioner of police Raghubir Lal said bungalow No. 1, located on the premises of Jagdishwar Hospital in Govind Nagar, was allotted to municipal peon Vinod Rawat in 2023. The bungalow is part of the corporation’s property at the hospital complex, which also houses its zonal office. According to civic officials, the accommodation was intended for Class I and gazetted officers. Rawat could not be contacted for his response.
“An allotment of a bungalow to a peon has come to light. The SIT formed on August 24 is also investigating how this happened. The names of those involved will be brought out,” Lal said.
Rawat is the founder and state president of the municipal vehicle drivers’ union. The allotment had been questioned in a complaint filed around three years ago. Following the complaint, the then special secretary directed then additional municipal commissioner Pratipal Singh to conduct an inquiry. A three-member committee was subsequently constituted to examine the allotment, officials aware of the matter said.
However, the committee’s inquiry did not result in any action. People familiar with the matter alleged that the issue was effectively buried and left pending. The circumstances surrounding that inquiry are now also expected to come under scrutiny as the police investigate alleged corruption in the municipal corporation.
The bungalow occupies a prominent part of the Jagdishwar Hospital premises, where the corporation’s zonal office is also located. It had earlier been allotted to Dr RK Singh, who served as the municipal health officer and later became a chief medical officer.
Investigators are examining how a property that had been allotted to a senior medical officer was subsequently allotted to a peon, police said.
Sources said the corporation spent around ₹20 lakh on the decoration and furnishing of the bungalow after its allotment to Rawat, and investigators were examining who sanctioned the expenditure and the circumstances in which civic funds were spent on the property after it was allotted to him.
The allotment also continued during the tenure of a mayor and three different municipal commissioners. The police are examining how the allotment remained in place under successive senior officials and whether they were aware of it, officials said.
According to police officials, investigators are also looking into whether Rawat’s position as a union leader had any bearing on the allotment. The earlier complaint and the inquiry that followed are likely to be crucial in establishing who authorised the allotment and why no action was taken despite the issue being raised at the time.
Lal said the investigation would establish the role of everyone involved in the matter.
For his part, municipal commissioner Arpit Upadhyaya said an inquiry into the matter was also being conducted by the civic body. “The additional municipal commissioner (properties) is conducting the inquiry. An interim inquiry report is expected within a day or two, following which action will be initiated,” Upadhyaya said.
