Palanpur, Feb 2 (IANS): A criminal complaint has been filed against four persons alleging that they siphoned off Rs 8.76 lakh of public money given for building toilets but have not constructed a single toilet. The Deesa police has started investigating the matter.

Gujarat's Deesa Taluka Panchayat development officer Nishantsinh Rajput has stated in his complaint that office-bearers of the Dhanpura Milk Producers Cooperative Society and the Ranpur Anamika Sakhi Mandli have together siphoned off Rs 8.76 lakh.

This amount was released for the construction of toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission. Both agencies were to construct 57 toilets; the Dhanpura cooperative was given Rs 6.12 lakh and Anamika Sakhi Mandli Rs 2.64 lakh.

In the complaint the officer stated that during inspection it was found that the milk producers on paper showed toilets for two persons, one for a husband and another for the wife. In reality the toilet was constructed by the house owner. They generated bills for two toilets and siphoned off public money.

Anamika Sakhi Mandli has also on paper shown construction of toilets, but had not built any toilet. They too generated bills and pocketed the money.

The police has booked Dhanpura Milk Producers Cooperative Committee's Ramesh Desai and Maganbhai Desai, Anamika Sakhi Mandli's Devikaben Parmar and Hansaben Vaghela for cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery, fraud, and forging documents, said a police officer.