INDIA: Punjab Police Book 54 Persons For Pension Fraud

DERA BABA NANAK, Punjab (The Times of India), February 22, 2008: Even as former parliamentary secretary and senior Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa termed it as witch-hunting against party supporters, police booked as many as 54 people and arrested 17 of them on Thursday for allegedly forging documents to avail benefits under old age pension scheme during the tenure of Amarinder Singh government. There have been allegations that those arrested were being implicated in false corruption cases. Government had already disclosed its intentions that irregularities in panchayat funds and list of pensioners will be reviewed to check frauds. The list of 54 detected persons who availed old age pension by forging documents during the previous regime, was sent to area police for action against the guilty. The Times of India learns that while 54 beneficiaries had forged papers to get old age pension, 17 residents of Shahpur Goraya village of Fateh Garh Churian were arrested on Thursday and hunt was on for other accused, who were absconding. Police had booked them under sections 420 and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. By Sukhwinder Malhi,TNN Copyright © 2008 Times Internet Limited.