Latest news with #Dunger
Indian Express
17 hours ago
- Indian Express
How a dead man's signature sparked a 20-year-old corruption case against govt official
In 2005, Food Safety Officer Sunil Kumar Sachan renewed the licence of a Kerosene Oil Depot (KOD) — an industrial facility used for bulk storage of kerosene and other petroleum products — in Northeast Delhi's Gokulpur. The catch? The licence for Shiv KOD was allegedly renewed using the signature of Dunger Singh, a licence holder with a major share in the depot — who had been dead for over a year. In 2006, the Delhi government's Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) lodged an FIR under sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act against Sachan. Close to two decades later, on August 18, a Delhi court directed that charges be framed against Sachan and two others — Simpal Garg, and Dunger's business partner Rajeev Kumar — in this case. 'A grave suspicion arises indicating active involvement of accused Sunil Kumar Sachan with co-accused Simpal Garg and Rajeev Kumar that they have conspired to cheat and forge the signatures of a deceased person, namely Dunger Singh, to illegally obtain the KOD licence to cause financial benefit to accused Rajeev Kumar,' noted Special Judge Dr Ruchi Aggarwal Asrani of Rouse Avenue Court in her order. What landed the government servant and his alleged co-conspirators in trouble was a signature in Hindi and a statement given by Dunger's real brother confirming his date of death. While all of Dunger's signatures on the files concerned before his death had been in English, the ones on the licence renewal form were in Hindi, the probe found. Dunger's brother and his daughter-in-law also told the ACB that he had passed away on August 5, 2004. The licence renewal application was dated July 12, 2005. There was another twist to the tale — two death certificates were issued. The then Gram Panchayat Adhikari and Registrar, Births and Deaths, of Baghpat had mentioned the date of Dunger's death as August 5, 2004, on one death certificate and October 2005 on another death certificate. The judge said: 'This court is of the view that there is a strong contention that Sh. Dunger Singh had actually died on 05.08.2004. The ACB had told the court that the two dates had been given by the Registrar to 'save the accused'. 'The prosecution has established that the accused, Sunil Kumar Sachan, had attested the signatures and photographs of Sh. Dunger Singh when he was allegedly not alive. It is an admitted case of the accused persons that accused Rajeev Kumar was a partner in M/s Shiv KOD and, thus, he had the underlying interest in the grant of the licence…,' Judge Asrani said, adding that FSL reports showed that Singh's signatures had been forged. Earlier, the ACB had filed a closure report in this case. This was rejected by Judge Asrani's predecessor, who stated: 'Dunger Singh had always put his signature in English. The entire file, from the day he got the licence in 1986 till the last renewal in 2002, bears his signature in English… except this last application for renewal of licence in 2005, the same is signed very neatly in Hindi'. The court had also noted that not enough efforts were made to question Rajeev Kumar.
Sky News AU
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
Reality TV star reveals the jaw-dropping amount Seven paid cast members per day for top-rating series Farmer Wants A Wife
The Seven Network pays Farmer Wants A Wife (FWAW) contestants $80 per day during filming, according to a former cast member. ACM sports journalist Ellen Dunger, 29, was paired with Farmer Todd, 33, on the 2024 season of the Seven's reality dating show. FWAW sees Australian farmers meet and select a group of women from cities to spend time with them on their farms nationwide, experiencing their lives and routines before ultimately choosing one to be their spouse. After the 2025 season premiered last week, Dunger took to TikTok to reveal the contestant's $80 per day rate is restricted to filming days, which sometimes roll into the early hours of the morning. "So you get $80 a day during filming, but you don't get it on your days off," she said in a video. However, even more galling was the fact that almost half the money was "withheld" by the network. "Forty per cent of that is withheld until after it airs," said Dunger. 'So you get sweet FA in terms of money from going on the show." Dunger said the wage is further offset by the contestants having to pay for their own wardrobe on set. 'It's obviously all out of your own pocket; the dresses are all your own, and all the outfits are your own," she said. Dunger, who was eventually eliminated from the show, said Seven's wage also does not cover the participant's hair and makeup. 'And by the end, you're so emotionally drained that you just want to cry because you're just so tired," she said. In comparison, the Nine Network pays the brides and grooms on Married At First Sight $150 per day and a $125 food allowance without hair, makeup, or wardrobe, reported The Daily Telegraph in 2024. An anonymous contestant told the publication they were "broke after having appeared on the show". 'I couldn't even make my rent payments with what we were being paid," they said. 'We would film late, so I would be ordering takeaway most nights. I spent a bomb on outfits, hair and make-up, and to top it off, they didn't even let us wear what we wanted. 'If someone was wearing the same colour as someone else, they would make you change. And anyone who runs a business on Instagram is struggling because they can't post anything.' MAFS 2023 groom Jesse Burford took to Instagram in May 2023 and claimed participants on the show were paid '$1,175 each week'. According to fellow contestant Olivia Frazer in 2023, his figure is slightly higher than the '$1,100 per week' she claimed the cast received. Meanwhile, a Love Island Australia insider told So Dramatic! the 2021 cast were allowed $150 per day for expenses, and money from sponsored content while in the villa, which could be "about $1,000 per post." has contacted Seven for comment.
