CBI slaps fresh case of embezzlement against former ITBP commandant

PTI, Dec 18, 2023, 1:38 PM IST

The CBI has filed a fresh case against former ITBP commandant Ashok Kumar Gupta for alleged embezzlement of over Rs 70 lakh in purchase of ration for troops under him.

Gupta, who was then posted at the 23rd Battalion in Dehradun, was booked last year for alleged corruption in the purchase of heating oil and other items for an outpost along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Uttarakhand, the agency said.

In the fresh case registered recently, the CBI has alleged that Gupta along with Sub Inspector Sudhir Kumar and Assistant Sub Insector Anusuya Prasad allegedly embezzled Rs 70 lakh by allowing vendors to submit inflated bills for mutton, chicken, fish, eggs, paneer, milk, fruits, they said.

The agency alleged that they made alteration in the official records causing wrongful loss to the tune of Rs 70.56 lakh to the ITBP and corresponding wrongful gain to themselves.

The CBI has also named Dehradun-based traders Narendera Ahuja, Vinay Kumar and Naveen Kumar in the FIR as accused. Last year, the ITBP had filed a complaint against Gupta citing multiple instances of corruption in the purchases made for the personnel.

It was alleged that Kumar, Prasad and one Sajid had made financial irregularities in the purchases for a wet canteen of the 23rd Battalion in Dehradun, officials said.

The alleged graft had taken place in wet canteen Jayka operating in the headquarters of the battalion in Dehradun where prepared snacks are served to unit personnel.

The ITBP inquiry had shown that purchases of the canteen were not done through the Central Police Canteen, instead material was purchased from local market without a tender process or through local purchase committee.

Consumable items of Rs 9.06 lakh were purchased through local market with bills prepared on letter pad of private firms and payments were made in cash, the FIR registered last year had alleged.

The inquiry report had cited statement of an ITBP jawan claiming that half of the amount of sugar and oil was illegally sourced from free ration stores of the companies under the battalion.