Ludhiana MC forms second panel to probe ‘ghost’ staffers
Official said that the panel has been constituted on the directions of MC commissioner Sandeep Rishi and is the second committee to be formed for looking into the matter
The municipal corporation has formed a panel, headed by joint commissioner Kulpreet Singh, to probe the employees linked to the creation of bogus staffers within the department.
Official said that the panel has been constituted on the directions of MC commissioner Sandeep Rishi and is the second committee to be formed for looking into the matter. The civic body had recently suspended seven employees in for involvement in the alleged fraud.
The case in question involves creation of bogus entries involving ghost employees, who drew salaries from the civic body but did not exist.
The committee has been tasked to conduct a thorough examination of the accounts related to the alleged bogus employees. Clear directives have been given to recover the money from their bank accounts, officials said. Additional commissioner Paramdeep Singh Khaira said, “The new committee has been formed with a motive to check the entries of all the bank accounts and the further accounts in the department. Moreover, the directions regarding the recovery of the amount transferred into the fake employees will also be done”.
The suspension of the seven employees on January 5 came after objections were raised by a team from the comptroller and auditor general (CAG), during an audit of documents from the 2022-23 financial year.
The investigation uncovered a network of ghost employees within the department who received significant arrear payments with the involvement of senior officials, including the suspended MC employees.
This incident mirrors a similar situation in 2018, when around 70 alleged ghost employees were exposed, prompting calls for a vigilance inquiry. However, the matter remained unresolved as the Municipal Employees Sangharsh Committee opposed the inquiry.
