Election Commission seeks report from Punjab chief secretary on Jang-e-Azadi memorial case

The Vigilance Bureau had said the construction of the Jang-e-Azadi memorial resulted in a direct financial loss of Rs 27.23 crore to the government exchequer due to overpayments to contractors.

Lok Sabha Elections 2024 results: Exit poll results and elections results will be out on June 1 and June 4 respectively. (FILE)

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday sought a report from the Punjab chief secretary on the Vigilance Bureau (VB) registering a case related to the construction of the Jang-e-Azadi Memorial at Kartarpur in Jalandhar.

The ECI’s special observer for Lok Sabha Elections 2024 asked the chief electoral officer of Punjab to seek a report from the chief secretary after taking note of newspaper reports about the FIR. The chief secretary has been asked to submit a factual report by Thursday evening so that the ECI may be informed.

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Wednesday booked 26 people, including Barjinder Singh Hamdard, the editor-in-chief of Ajit Group, and IAS officer Vinay Bublani, for the alleged manipulation and misappropriation of funds in the execution of the Rs 315-crore Jang-e-Azadi Memorial at Kartarpur in Jalandhar.

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The VB said the Jang-e-Azadi project underwent reviews by several technical teams. It was discovered that the construction of the memorial resulted in a direct financial loss of Rs 27.23 crore to the government exchequer due to overpayments to contractors. Additionally, the project remains incomplete, posing another financial burden on the government, it said in a statement.

A senior officer said 14 officials and a contractor were arrested. Those booked include the owners of Deepak Builder, the firm that secured the contract for the memorial’s construction, several executive engineers, sub-divisional officers, contractors, and the manager of Godrej Group, who were closely associated with the project.

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Punjab