The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has arrested one other accused contractor named Ajaypal, a resident of village Udhanwal in SBS Nagar, who was concerned in committing a fraud concerning labor cartage and transport tenders in grain markets of SBS Nagar district in connivance with different contractors and anxious officers/workers of the Food and Civil Supplies division and procurement companies.
He was avoiding his arrest on this case however on account of steady raids by the VB at his numerous places, he surrendered earlier than the competent court docket. The Bureau has arrested the mentioned accused on Monday and succeeded in getting his two days police remand from the court docket.
Disclosing this in the present day, the spokesperson of the VB mentioned on this regard, a case had already been registered towards the previous meals and civil provides minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, his PA Pankaj Kumar alias Menu Malhotra, Deputy Director RK Singla, DFSC Rakesh Bhaskar, apart from three contractors, specifically Telu Ram, Yashpal, and Ajaypal, (all residents of village Udhanwal) for committing this fraud and embezzlement, inflicting enormous losses to the State exchequer.
He additional knowledgeable that the Bureau, after investigating this rip-off within the grain markets of SBS Nagar, had registered a case No. 18 on 22-09-2022 towards the above-mentioned accused beneath sections 420, 409, 467, 468, 471, 120-B, and beneath sections 7, 8, 12, 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act at Police Station VB, Jalandhar.
Revealing extra info on this regard, the spokesperson mentioned throughout filling of tenders for labor cartage and transport within the grain markets for wheat/paddy/inventory articles within the yr 2020-2021, Honey Kumar, the proprietor of RS Co-operative labor and development society, had submitted tenders for Nawanshahr and Rahon clusters, and one other entity P.G. Godown had filed tenders for Nawanshahr solely at fundamental tender charges however had been rejected by the division with none causes. These tenders had been awarded to contractor Telu Ram for the Nawanshahr cluster at 71 p.c larger price and the Rahon cluster at 72 p.c larger charges. Later, the tenders referred to as for the yr 2022-23, the mentioned Honey Kumar once more submitted tenders at fundamental charges for labour works within the Rahon cluster and Nawanshahr cluster from his above-said corporations, however the district tender allocation committee rejected his bids and allotted these tenders to contractor Ajaypal at 73 p.c larger charges for the works within the Nawanshahr cluster and 72 p.c larger within the Rahon cluster, he added.
He additional mentioned the mentioned contractors Telu Ram and Yashpal, on the time of filling the tenders for the yr 2020-21, and contractor Ajaypal through the yr 2020-21 and 2022-23, had hooked up on-line lists concerning registration numbers of autos for transportation of products, which had been verified by the respective district transport authorities. During the investigation by VB, it was discovered that in these lists, a lot of autos equivalent to scooters, bikes, vehicles, pickups, tractor trailers, shut physique vehicles, LPG tankers, and harvesters, and many others., had been talked about, whereas the meals grains couldn’t be transported on such autos.
During the probe, it has been established that together with the registration numbers of faux autos talked about within the gate passes, the small print of the amount of meals grains are prima facie a case of faux reporting and embezzlement proven within the gate passes additionally. He mentioned the involved officers/workers of the division had additionally paid quantities to the mentioned contractors for the work achieved with out verifying these faux gate passes.
He additional revealed that other than this, on checking the photocopies of Aadhaar playing cards of the labour offered by the mentioned contractors through the tender course of, it was got here to fore that many of those Aadhaar playing cards belong to minor staff, or the elders having an age above 60 years, and lots of Aadhaar playing cards aren’t readable. According to the details, the district tender committee ought to have rejected the technical bid of the involved contractors, which was not achieved however the involved officers/workers of the Food and Civil Supplies division and respective procurement companies, in connivance with one another, have dedicated this fraud within the labour cartage and transport tenders. On the idea of this probe, this case has been registered towards the above-mentioned accused.
He additional knowledgeable that 5 accused on this case, specifically Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Menu Malhotra, Telu Ram, Yashpal and Ajaypal have been arrested to this point, and the remaining absconding accused can be arrested quickly. Mentionably, DFSC Rakesh Bhaskar had already handed away and RK Singla, suspended deputy director of the mentioned division has been declared proclaimed offender by the Ludhiana court docket, he added.