The CBI has registered an FIR for criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and criminal misconduct after allegations of a Rs70-lakh scam came to light in connection with the purchase of meat, chicken, fish, eggs, cheese, milk and fruits for soldiers of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police’s 23rd battalion in Dehradun. The FIR names then commandant Ashok Gupta, two of his subordinates and businessmen who supplied goods as responsible for the scam that allegedly took place between 2017 and 2019. “The allegations are that during the period from 2017 to 2019, Ashok Kumar Gupta, the then Commandant, Sudhir Kumar, the then SI, and Anusuiya Prasad, then ASI, all of 23rd Battalion ITBP, in collusion with private contractors and traders namely Narendra Ahuja, Attorney Holder of Ahuja Traders, Vinay Kumar, Proprietor of Vinay Kumar Traders, Naveen Kumar, Proprietor of Naveen Traders, and other unknown public servants and private persons committed large-scale financial irregularities in purchase of government ration,” said the FIR. The accused allegedly presented inflated bills for supplies like mutton, chicken, fish, eggs, paneer, milk, fruits and altered official records, causing a wrongful loss of Rs 70.56 lakh to the ITBP and making wrongful gains for themselves. The FIR was registered following a complaint made by ITBP Commandant Piyush Pushkar to the CBI’s superintendent of police in January. It was registered under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged) of the Indian Penal Code along with sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988. As per sources, the battalion’s officials showed the quantities of meat, fish, chicken, eggs and cheese purchased to be much higher that the actual amounts. The goods were allegedly purchased under the supervision of Ashok Gupta, Sudhir Kumar and Anusuiya Prasad, who has since retired.
