Tarn Taran: A major fraudulent operation has been uncovered during the registration drive for Punjab’s newly launched welfare initiative, the ‘Mawan-Dhiyan Sanman Yojana’, in the Chohla Sahib block of Tarn Taran district. The discrepancies came to light during a routine document verification process when officials discovered that 62 female applicants from the Khadoor Sahib constituency were all registered under a single bank account number. Subsequent investigations revealed that the account did not belong to any of the intended beneficiaries, but was instead registered to the son of anganwadi worker.
The startling revelation triggered immediate panic within the department, prompting the district administration to launch a swift probe. Reports indicate that Jatinder Kaur, an anganwadi worker from Bhail Dhahae Wala village, had been assigned the official duty of registering eligible women from her area for the scheme, which rolled out across the state on July 1. Investigators allege that Kaur uploaded the single bank account number for dozens of applicants. The anomaly was flagged during a high-level verification process in Chandigarh, leading to an immediate local inquiry ordered by the District Programme Officer.
The investigation disclosed that the bank account in question belonged to Gurbaz Singh, the son of the accused worker. It is alleged that Kaur shared her official login credentials and password with Singh, who then conducted the door-to-door registrations. Singh deliberately substituted the personal banking information of the applicants with his own account details. Had the departmental oversight team not intercepted the fraud during the digital verification stage, state welfare funds intended for the women would have been directly diverted into the unauthorized account.
Following a formal complaint lodged by Nivedita Kumra, the Child Development Project Officer of Chohla Sahib block, the Goindwal Sahib police registered a criminal case against both Jatinder Kaur and Gurbaz Singh. Tarn Taran Senior Superintendent of Police Surendra Lamba stated that a specialized team led by Goindwal Sahib Station House Officer Baljit Kaur has been formed to apprehend the absconding suspects. Law enforcement officials are currently conducting raids to arrest the duo and are investigating whether other individuals were complicit in the operation. Administrative officials emphasized that the scheme is being executed with strict transparency, and multiple layers of verification remain active to protect public funds.
