Chatra: Deputy development commissioner (DDC) Amarendra Sinha on Sunday ordered an inquiry into allegations that names of schoolchildren were allegedly used to create fake job cards and withdraw MGNREGA funds in Brahmana panchayat under Sadar block of Chatra.The issue came to light after it emerged that several students, aged between 7 and 9 years, and enrolled in classes VII and VIII with the Middle School Dumbi, were shown as adults, aged 19 to 29 years, in official records. Based on these allegedly manipulated entries, job cards were issued in their names, labour demand raised, and payments made for work purportedly done under various schemes.A team, led by DRDA assistant programme manager Pradeep Kumar, has begun on-ground verification, examining job cards, muster rolls, labour demand records, bank accounts, and payment details, officials said.Some projects, under which wages were released, may not exist on the ground, area residents said.Questions are also being raised about the role of multiple officials, including the mukhiya, employment servant, panchayat secretary and block-level functionaries. Generating job cards, raising labour demand, and releasing payments involve several layers, making irregularities unlikely without wider complicity.Allegations of fake attendance and misuse of mate IDs have also surfaced. Also, wages were allegedly transferred to bank accounts linked to the children. The probe will examine who operated these accounts and withdrew the money.“The verification of the students’ names, age and school details is underway. If any irregularity is found, those responsible will not be spared. FIR and departmental action will follow,” Sinha said.
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