Gurdaspur / Patti
In a high-profile administrative crackdown, a specialized team of the Tarn Taran Police on Saturday descended upon Gurdaspur and arrested Punjab Civil Services (PCS) officer and current Gurdaspur Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Anupreet Kaur.
The arrest is tied to her previous tenure as SDM Patti, where she is accused of masterminding a severe financial embezzlement scheme involving national highway land compensation funds totalling over ₹1.63 crore.
While senior police officials have maintained strict operational confidentiality, local administrative circles have been thrown into a stir following the sudden development.
The Anatomy of the Fraud
The case originates from an exhaustive inquiry initially ordered by the Tarn Taran Deputy Commissioner and subsequently investigated by Patti SDM Navraj Singh Brar. The multi-layered probe unearthed deep-seated irregularities:
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Misappropriation of Central Funds: The embezzled funds were part of a massive compensation package released by the Union Government for landowners whose properties were acquired for the construction of National Highway 54 (formerly NH-15).
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Bypassing Revenue Protocols: Acting as the Competent Authority Land Acquisition (CALA) between January 2018 and February 2019, Kaur allegedly abused her official position to route funds into private accounts without verifying statutory Revenue Department records.
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Illicit Distribution: Large tranches of government funds were fraudulently transferred to the bank accounts of co-accused individuals whose lands were never actually acquired for the national highway grid.
A criminal case had been formally registered against Kaur and multiple private individuals at the Patti City Police Station under Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant), 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating), and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Widening Probe and Previous Suspensions
This is not the first time the PCS officer has faced legal and administrative crosshairs over land compensation anomalies. Following the initial detection of the fraud in late 2019, the state government placed Kaur under immediate suspension.
Subsequent investigations into her tenure across Tarn Taran, Patti, and Bhikhiwind allegedly revealed supplementary scams—including separate cases involving the irregular transfer of ₹1.80 crore to 20 individuals, and another ₹88 lakh tracking back to property acquisitions linked to family members. In total, the cumulative scope of the land compensation discrepancies under her supervision is estimated to have touched the ₹3.91-crore mark, drawing banking officials and local conduits into the wider police net.
Political Fallout and Electoral Undercurrents
Kaur’s administrative tenure has been highly contentious and previously served as a flashpoint for intense political confrontation. Senior political figures, including Barindermeet Singh Pahra, had fiercely raised the issue of systemic corruption cases against SDM Anupreet Kaur during the Zilla Parishad elections.
Pahra had publicly challenged the integrity of the regional administrative machinery, raising serious questions regarding the election process and oversight under her watch.
Next Legal Steps
Following her detention by the visiting Tarn Taran police grid in Gurdaspur, Kaur is being shifted to the jurisdiction of the arresting station for formal processing. She is scheduled to be produced before a local judicial magistrate for police remand. Investigators are expected to seek extended custody to trace the remaining money trail and probe further collusion within the revenue and banking sectors.
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