Ropar, February 22: Deposing in favour of the accused in an encroachment case of panchayat land cost a sarpanch dear when the Rural Development and Panchayat Director issued his suspension orders over the issue.The orders stated that the actions of sarpanch Harmohan Singh of Rajemajra village were against the interests of the gram panchayat. A case pertaining to the ownership of shamlat land of Rajemajra village panchayat was pending in the court of District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO)-cum-collector (panchayati land) at Ropar and in his orders passed on November 29, 2013, he had decided the case in favour of the panchayat and the latter took possession of the land on May 22, 2014.Following this, one of the litigants, Baljit Singh, had filed a case against the judgment in the civil court where during the hearing of the case, sarpanch Harmohan Singh got his statement recorded in the court against the interests of the gram panchayat on April 6, 2017.Former sarpanches Simratpal Singh and Vijay Kumar had submitted a complaint to the Deputy Commissioner against Harmohan Singh in July 2017 and an inquiry was conducted on the complaint by the Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO).The BDPO in his report recommended action against the sarpanch under Section 20 of the Panchayati Raj Act.
