Bhopal, October 17: The Jhirnia district panchayat, which once drew applause for 100 percent payment of allotted wages under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Generation Act (MGNREGA), has now come under the scanner for an alleged case of fraud. Reports have found that "job cards" in name of some of the villagers featured images of actresses Deepika Padukone and Jacqueline Fernandez. Kangana Ranaut Takes Dig At Deepika Padukone After Latter's Name Crops Up In Drug Controversy.

In Piperkhed Naka village under Ziranya panchayat, 70 km from the district headquarters, a job card of a person identified as Monu Shivshankar beared the image of Deepika, a top Bollywood personality. In another job card of villager Sonu Shantilal, the image of Jacqueline was placed.

Around 11 such fraudulent job cards have been reportedly brought to the notice of officials. An inquiry has been launched. The villagers whose names were used in such cards claimed that they were neither provided employment under the scheme nor made any payments, reports said.

"Information on 11 job cards with pictures of celebrities has come to my notice. In the last few days large amounts of money have been withdrawn and muster rolls filled. We will find out how the job cards were issued and how these pictures were taken. Action will be taken against whoever is found guilty in the investigation," NDTV reported Gaurav Banal, CEO of district panchayat, as saying.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 17, 2020 04:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).