The locals have accused Chaudhary of embezzling budget allocated for village development for the last five years without even being seen in the village. “Though he has been working as the VDC secretary for the last five years, he has not been seen in the village all these years,” said Bijay Mandal, a local. [break]
“While his absence has affected development activities in the village, elderly citizens have been deprived of their social security allowance,” he added.
Though the locals have filed complaint against Chaudhary at the District Administration Office and District Development Committee time and again, the authorities have not taken any action against the errant VDC official.
According to Santosh Sah, a local, Chaudhary and technical assistant Yasodhanandha Bhandari embezzled Rs 884,750 allocated for constructing a sub-health post in the village in the fiscal year 2006-2007. Likewise, they also blamed Chaudhary of embezzling Rs 569,750 allocated for erecting electric poles in the same fiscal year.
Chief District Officer of Saptari Hari Raj Panta said Chaudhary had been arrested and later freed on bail. Panta said a corruption case has already been filed against Chaudhary.
Meanwhile, Chaudhary and Yosodhanandha Bhandari have admitted to embezzling Rs 884,750 and have promised to return the money to the VDC within 15 days.
In addition, the local Dalits have also accused Chaudhary of embezzling Rs 435,100 provided by the government for Dalit children. Chaudhary could not be reached for comments.
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