The Vigilance Bureau (VB) has registered a corruption case against six officials of the Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) Department in Faridkot and three private contractors for allegedly embezzling Rs 24.34 lakh from funds allocated for the maintenance of the city’s water supply system.​The accused officials include Executive Engineer (XEN) Jaswinder Singh, Sub-Divisional Engineer (SDO) Sandeep Singh, Junior Engineer (JE) Parwinder Singh, Senior Assistants Jasmit Singh and Tara Singh, and Data Entry Operator Satnam Singh. The three contractors named in the scam are Karnail Singh, Hardeep Singh and Jasvir Singh.​The FIR has been registered under Sections 13(1)(a) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) relating to criminal conspiracy, forgery and breach of trust.​According to the investigation findings, the department had allocated Rs 73.36 lakh on October 23, 2024, for the maintenance of the Faridkot City Water Supply Scheme. The accused allegedly siphoned off Rs 24.34 lakh without executing any actual work on the ground.​A departmental inquiry, based on reports submitted by Superintending Engineer (SE) Narinder Singh, revealed a series of procedural violations in the processing and approval of seven works on October 25, 2024.It is alleged in the FIR that SDO Sandeep Singh floated quotation notices for seven works, each estimated at Rs 49,900, without prior requirement reports, proposals from the junior engineer or estimates from the drawing branch.XEN Jaswinder Singh allegedly approved the works bypassing the mandatory comparative statements and reconciliation. The estimated costs were subsequently inflated to nearly Rs 5 lakh each. Fraudulent enhancement approvals bearing forged signatures of the then Superintending Engineer Sukhpinder Singh were issued through Senior Assistant Jasmit Singh.The works were claimed to have been started on October 25 and completed over the same weekend. Bills were submitted without contractors’ signatures or dispatch numbers.JE Parwinder Singh made false entries in the measurement book (MB) without inspecting the sites, while Data Entry Operator Satnam Singh, in collusion with Senior Assistant Tara Singh, cleared the bills despite allegedly lacking the technical qualifications to scrutinise them. Payments were disbursed into the contractors’ bank accounts by October 29, 2024, alleged the FIR.​During verification, contractors Hardeep and Karnail reportedly confirmed that no work had been executed on the spot.​DSP Vinod Kumar of the Vigilance Bureau’s Faridkot unit, who registered the case on the instructions of the bureau’s head office and range officials, is investigating the matter. Further investigation is under way to examine whether other officials or private individuals were involved.