The CBI has booked four ITBP personnel, including a Commandant, posted in Dehradun for corruption after detecting misappropriation of over 9,000 litres of heating oil worth Rs 7.16 lakh, meant for troopers posted along the India-China border.
According to the CBI, the accused in 2018 allegedly falsified records to show two oil tankers (9,784 litres each) dispatched to border outposts (BoPs) located at over 10,000ft to 12,000ft. However, only one tanker ever reached the sector post and many BoPs did not get even a drop of oil, the CBI said.
These tankers were supposed to have reached Mana post, near Badrinath shrine in Uttarakhand, in 2018 and from there it was shown to have been distributed to three BoPs further up in the mountains near the Line of Actual Control (LAC). However, Mana and Kothiyasain posts did not receive oil even though the records show that they were delivered 7,200 litres of oil cumulatively.
“Vide two invoices, two tankers of SK Oil (heating oil), each of 9,784-litre capacity, were shown to be received at Mana post of 23rd Bn, but actually only one tanker carrying oil worth Rs 7,16,430 was received. Another tanker of SK Oil never reached Mana post. There is misappropriation of 9,784 litres of SK Oil at Mana post on 06.09.2018,” the CBI FIR has said.
Those booked by the agency were identified as Commandant Ashok Kumar Gupta; Sub-Inspector Sudhir Kumar; ASI Anusuiya Prasad; and one Sajid.
The investigation into the matter was initially conducted by the ITBP itself through a Court of Inquiry (CoI). The CoI found that when various stakeholders were questioned about the receipt of the tankers, almost all except the accused said they had not seen more than one tanker reaching the Mana post. The records were also found to have been overwritten at places to allegedly hide the misappropriation.
According to the CoI, the oil was supposed to be distributed between Mana post (3,000 litres), Ghastoli BoP (5,984 litres), Ratakona BoP (6,384 litres), and Kothiyalsain BoP (4,000 litres), as mentioned in the records.
Similarly, the accused were found to have falsified canteen records to show purchases that were never made, and siphoned off over Rs 9 lakh, the FIR said. “From August 2017 to October 2019, the unit had procured consumable items for Wet Canteen from three different firms owned by one person for more than Rs 9,06,131 without following any due process of purchase. Most of the bills were processed on simple letter pads of the firms concerned and cash payments were made. The firms had denied that the bills were issued by them . No payment was received by the firm against these bills,” the FIR said.