Punjab: Villager who staked Rs 2 crore for top post ‘went on long leave’

Punjab: Former Sarpanch of Hardorwal Kalan village Atma Singh, who had placed the final bid of Rs 2 crore to get unanimously elected in the panchayat elections, has “gone on a long leave”. Atma has not been seen in the village since the auction story broke out. His family members claimed he would definitely return, but for the time being “he has gone on a long leave”. One of his relatives said he has moved to an undisclosed location. Sources said Atma has gone into hiding ever since opposition leader Pratap Singh Bajwa demanded a vigilance probe against him. While the opposition is pressuring the police to arrest Atma, who is associated with the BJP, senior officials say they have no concrete evidence to nab him. Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta said the administration has no authority to take action until Atma files his nomination and becomes the sole candidate from his village. “Till then the administration cannot take action,” the DC said. The nomination process ended today and as expected, Atma did not file his nomination.

Villagers said Atma felt the BJP leader would come to his aid in his “hour of need”. However, that never happened, so he decided to leave the village. Atma’s father Vasan Singh declined to comment. A neighbour said Atma wanted the post because it had become a prestige issue for his family. “His family wants to start development work. There is nothing wrong in it. If a person wants to spend money from his own pocket to improve infrastructure, what is wrong with it? The media is creating a controversy that does not exist,” he said. A few days ago, Atma, Jaswinder Singh and Nirbhay Singh had competed for the sarpanch post, with the former bidding the highest at Rs 2 crore. This unconventional approach was seen as a way to circumvent the conventional voting method. Defending his actions, Atma had said, “I don’t find anything wrong in what I have done. I had promised to deposit the money in a common account of the village. It would have been used for development work under the guidance of a committee of fellow villagers.”