Punjab Newsline | Gurdaspur
A major twist has emerged in the land acquisition compensation case related to the Rajasthan–Jammu & Kashmir National Highway project. PCS officer and Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Anupreet Kaur Randhawa, currently posted in Gurdaspur, was arrested from her government residence on Saturday morning.
The action was taken by Patti Police in Tarn Taran following a long-running investigation into alleged irregularities in the distribution of land acquisition compensation during the construction of National Highway-54.
According to the investigation, compensation worth ₹1.63 crore was transferred to the bank accounts of five individuals who allegedly had no connection with the acquired land. At the time of the alleged fraud, Anupreet Kaur Randhawa was serving as SDM in Tarn Taran.
Investigators revealed that the land acquisition process for NH-54 was carried out between 2018 and 2019. During this period, the compensation amount was reportedly released without proper verification of revenue department records.
Case Was Registered in 2019
The case first came to light after then SDM of Patti, Navraj Singh Brar, sent a complaint to the then Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Sabharwal. The complaint alleged that the beneficiaries who received the compensation did not own any land acquired for the highway project.
Following an inquiry, a case was registered on September 5, 2019, at City Patti Police Station under sections related to cheating, criminal breach of trust, and criminal conspiracy.
