The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has arrested a Panchkula-based coloniser for allegedly serving to Girish Verma, former government officer (EO) of the Zirakpur municipal council, in accumulating disproportionate property.

A VB spokesperson mentioned the accused, Pawan Kumar Sharma, performed a pivotal function in facilitating Verma’s accumulation of illicit wealth.

This was achieved by deceitfully promoting an open plinth, positioned on a 5-acre plot in Khudal Kalan village, Bareta, Mansa.

The plinth, initially meant for storage functions with a capability of 25,000 metric tonnes, was falsely portrayed as agricultural land. The land was undervalued throughout registration, and Sharma, identified for his actual property enterprise in Zirakpur, allegedly supplied Verma undue benefits in return.

Sharma allegedly additionally assisted Verma in concealing his illegally acquired funds by participating in cash layering methods and integrating the money into reputable banking system via varied means, together with offering financial institution entries.

Additionally, the spokesperson revealed that Sharma had engaged in a number of monetary transactions with the EO’s son Vikas Verma.

The MC officer was arrested on October 12, 2020, after a vigilance probe had discovered that he spent 7.15 crore greater than his earnings between April 2008 and March 2021. Verma was posted as EO, Bhikhiwind, Amritsar, when he was arrested.

According to the bureau, utilizing illegally acquired wealth, Verma bought a number of properties in his identify, moreover his spouse Sangeeta Verma and son Vikas Verma. Despite being unemployed, each Sangeeta and Vikas personal 10 and 5 properties, respectively.

The properties concerned within the case embody business showrooms positioned in Zirakpur and Panchkula, in addition to residential homes in Panchkula and Ludhiana. Furthermore, the accused additionally acquired plots in Kansal, Chandigarh; Dhakoli, Zirakpur; and Khudal Kalan, Mansa.

In addition to those transactions, he had invested a sum of 1.32 crore in two developer corporations underneath his son’s identify.

Recently, the Punjab and Haryana excessive courtroom had dismissed the anticipatory bail petitions of co-accused Gaurav Gupta and Sanjiv Kumar, each companions of Vikas Verma in the true property agency, Balaji Infra Buildtech. An anticipatory bail plea of ​​Vikas was additionally dismissed by the HC and he stays at massive.