Madhya Pradesh: Sarpanch gives panchayat 'on contract' to repay debt; sacked

Bhopal: A village sarpanch in Madhya Pradesh's Guna district has been dismissed from her post after it was found that she had given away the power to run the panchayat to another person in return for money.

The sarpanch even signed an agreement on a Rs 100 stamp paper for this purpose, a district official said on Wednesday.

The bizarre deal was struck in November 2022 between sarpanch Laxmi Bai of Karod gram panchayat near Guna and local contractor Ranveer Singh Kushwaha who is a member of the panchayat, the official said.

As per the agreement entered into on November 28, 2022, Kushwaha allegedly agreed to repay Laxmi Bai's debt of Rs 20 lakh and also pay her five per cent commission on construction contracts he would get.

After the matter came to light, an inquiry was conducted and the sarpanch was removed from her post, said district magistrate Kishore Kumar Kanyal.

A First Information Report was registered against Kushwaha under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 318 (cheating) and also under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and further probe was on, said Guna Cantt police station in-charge Anup Bhargav.