Ex-Edu Department official receives 5-year prison sentence in bribery case

Anil Kumar Sharma (67), a resident of Mohalla Kanri, Malerkotla, Sangrur district, was condemned in a corruption case by Court of Additional Sessions Judge Dr. Ajit Atri. Sharma was the previous district manager of the Education Department.

He was being accused of embezzling Rs 97,40,979 when he was employed at this regional office, providing and selling books. He has been sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) and a fine of Rs 20,000 by the court.

Following a complaint by Gurinder Pal Singh, the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) Secretary at the time, at Sahibzada Singh Nagar (Mohali), a case was filed against the accused.

In addition to providing books pertaining to the Block and Welfare Department/Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in the relevant district and selling books at regional offices, the complainant had claimed that the board had established several regional offices in Punjab, where district managers were responsible for gathering examination forms and fees from students.

The central office, located in SAS Nagar, Mohali, used to deploy several audit teams to regional offices to perform audits of the supplied/sold books. If any discrepancies were discovered, the proper action was done in accordance with the regulations. After the teams were sent to the Regional Office in Ludhiana, a total loss of Rs 97,40,979 was discovered in the supply and sale of books between April 1, 2009, and August 31, 2012, based on reports generated and periodic audits carried out by them.

Additionally, Anil Kumar Sharma, district manager, Regional Office, Ludhiana, received bills totaling Rs 16,00,000 on multiple occasions for books supplied to the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan through the Regional Office during the academic year 2011–2012 and for books supplied to the Welfare Department and the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan during 2010–2011; however, he failed to notify the head office of the same. The complainant also said that as a result, a departmental investigation was launched against him and storekeeper Ravinder Sharma, and both were found guilty.

The defendant entered an innocencia plea during the trial, but the court judged him guilty after considering the prosecution’s evidence. The outcome of the case against co-accused Ravinder is still pending.