Village head held for embezzling disaster relief funds

Lucknow: Balrampur district police on Saturday arrested Jabir Ali, village head of Kalu Bankat, for allegedly embezzling Rs 6 lakh from State Disaster Relief Fund allocated to a grieving family.The incident came to light after FIR was lodged at Rehra Bazaar police station on Jul 18, by Alakh Ram, a local revenue official. According to police, the funds were meant for Jannatun Nisa, whose four daughters drowned in the Kuwano River on Jun 17. Govt transferred Rs 16 lakh as financial aid to her account on July 16, after completion of formalities.The next day, misusing his position and misleading the beneficiary, Jabir Ali transferred Rs 6 lakh to a bank account, said the police. When Jannatun Nisa confronted him, she was pressured into settling the matter.A special investigation team, led by senior police officials, probed the incident and Jabir Ali was found guilty. Police added some more charges in the case. Jabir Ali already faces charges of assault and violence and action is being taken at the Panchayat Raj department level, with two notices already issued against him.