Punjab Vigilance registers FIR against Moga ADC over Rs 3.7 cr land compensation row
The FIR has been filed under Sections 13(1)(a) and 13(7) of the Prevention of Corruption Act following findings of an inquiry conducted jointly by the Revenue and PWD departments.
PTC News Desk: The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has registered an FIR against Moga Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Charumita over alleged lapses pertaining to approval of Rs 3.7-crore compensation for land along the Dharmkot–Shahkot section of National Highway-703.
The FIR has been filed under Sections 13(1)(a) and 13(7) of the Prevention of Corruption Act following findings of an inquiry conducted jointly by the Revenue and PWD departments.
The action follows Charumita bein chargesheeted by the Public Works Department (PWD) in September and sought Vigilance probe. Her suspension was already ordered by the state government on November 6.
According to the officials, the land was originally acquired in 1963 by PWD (B&R), Ferozepur, for road construction. However, during the highway widening project in 2014, the same land was treated as “newly acquired,” and in 2019, compensation worth Rs 3.7 crore was approved.
Since Moga district was part of Ferozepur in 1963, the disappearance of old revenue records put the Ferozepur administration under the spotlight. Earlier this month, an FIR was filed after the Deputy Commissioner of Ferozepur reported that the files were missing.
Following the suspension of Charumita, the Moga administration restarted its search for the missing documents. On November 13, officials found the 1963 revenue record for the land originally acquired by the PWD.
According to senior officials, finding this document has “opened a Pandora’s box.” Investigators now suspect that several people may have illegally taken compensation twice — once in 1963 when the land was acquired, and again in 2019 by pretending it was fresh acquisition.
This suspected double-compensation scam is believed to be the reason behind ADC Charumita’s suspension and the filing of the FIR.
SP Vigilance Manjit Singh said the FIR against Charumita is based on a departmental inquiry, and investigations are continuing to find all the beneficiaries, involved officials, and the total financial loss to the government.