Blame game starts on mass wedding scam

GREATER NOIDA: A villager who had unsuccessfully contested the panchayat elections has claimed he had informed the chief development officer about the mass wedding scam and the alleged involvement of the panchayat chief and her husband, but he hadn’t taken any step.
A blame game has started among the government officials ever since the district magistrate sought a report on why the couples who tied the knots at the mass wedding last month were not registered.

While the CDO has blamed his juniors — the block development officer and the social development officer — in his report, they said the panchayat chief’s husband had taken the couples directly to the venue of the event and that it was the senior official oversaw the mass wedding.

The husband of the Cheeti-Nangla panchayat chief has been arrested. Panchayat chief Babita Bhati has been named in the FIR. The CDO has said his report would be sent to the social development department in Lucknow.

“It was the responsibility of the BDOs, ADOs and the secretaries (panchayat) of the Dankaur and Dadri blocks. In the cases of the Cheeti-Nangla villages, none of the couples had been registered by the BDO for the wedding and it seemed the weddings took place merely because the couples were ready and the officials thought that the target could be met. This is 100% fraud,” CDO Anil Kumar Singh said.

He said the officials named could be suspended if the state government so decided.

The officials blamed by the CDO, however, said the panchayat pradhan’s husband had directly brought the already married couples to the mass wedding.

Mahendra Singh, the BDO of Dankaur, said: “I was not aware of any of the couples from Dankaur participating in the mass wedding as they did not register themselves and came to the venue straightaway. They might have been in touch with some seniors but my involvement is beyond the question as no one had been registered in my block.”

The ADOs and panchayat secretaries, too, passed the buck.

Ashok Kumar, ADO (panchayat) Dadri, who was sent to the Dadri block to confirm the number of couples who had re-married, denied involvement in the matter.

“Why will I be involved? It happened at the level of the BDO and other senior officials,” he said.

Narendra Singh, who had contested the gram panchayat elections from Cheeti-Nangla last year, has written to the district magistrate saying he had informed the CDO about the alleged scam.

“I had complained to the CDO and other officials about the matter but no action was ever taken,” he said.

District magistrate BN Singh said he would examine the letter sent by Narendra Singh and would action against those found involved. The DM said the panchayat chief would also not be spared if she was found guilty.