A senior police officer currently posted in the VIP security wing of Delhi Police is among a group of police personnel under scanner in a curtain purchase scandal.
A senior police officer currently posted in the VIP security wing of Delhi Police is among a group of police personnel under scanner in a curtain purchase scandal.
It all began at the Police Training College (PTC) in Jharoda Kalan when money was sanctioned for the purchase of curtains for the annual passing-out parade in 2005-06. The fraud came to light after an internal audit of the PTC. It was found that records were fudged and eraser fluid was used to change the year from 2005-06 to 2006-07 to split payments because of insufficiency of funds.
The audit report stated: “The PTC is not supposed purchase curtains for such a huge amount….PTC authorities did not follow codal formalities…Three quotations from M/s G Enterprises, M/s Manoj Enterprises and M/s AN Enterprises were obtained a number of times and every time M/s G Enterprises happened to be the lowest bidder his happened at least 270 times within a period of four months. This is blatant splitting of payments.”
Parallel inquiries were instituted by the vigilance and training departments. The vigilance report stated that G Enterprises arranged the other two quotations.
According to an inquiry conducted by the special commissioner of police, training (under whose jurisdiction the PTC falls) permission was not taken from the police headquarters for the purchase.
“There was no requisition for installation of curtains from PTC. On the day of receipt of first (stock of) curtains, 414 curtains were already available in stock in addition to 460,” stated a probe report.
On knowing about the fraud the then police commissioner KK Paul had said in 2006, “The passing-out parade is not held inside the PTC, but in the ground. Nobody even noticed the curtains, if at all they were there. The parade appears to be an excuse to spend money.”
A few days ago, a departmental inquiry was instituted against four police personnel and the names of additional commissioner of police MK Meena (at the time of purchase he was deputy commissioner and was posted as principal, PTC) and assistant commissioner SK Ahuja were sent to the state home department for necessary action as they are gazetted officers. Meena was the chairman of the purchase committee when the curtains were purchased.
Surprisingly, an inspector, whose role in the scandal was fixed by the vigilance report, was excluded from the list of accused. Raminder Singh was on the purchasing committee and knew about fraud.
The vigilance report, a copy of which is with the DNA, states, “…Inspector, administration, was aware of the developments, yet he did nothing to rectify it.” The report quotes the inspector’s subordinate, Sultan Singh, as saying that Raminder had directed him to carry forward the 2005-06 bills to 2006-07. Sultan Singh changed the financial year using eraser fluid.
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