New Delhi, July 6 (MExN): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday conducted searches in Nagaland along with 10 other states and Union Territories in connection with four cases of alleged misappropriation of funds belonging to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), an official statement said.
The searches in Nagaland were part of a coordinated operation covering 26 locations across Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Delhi, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, it stated.
The cases pertain to irregularities in the deployment of casual labourers and release of payments in the names of fake casual labourers under BRO’s Project Vijayak and Yojak in the UT of Ladakh. Four FIRs were registered in this connection based on criminal complaints lodged by the Ministry of Defence, based on an internal enquiry conducted by Technical Board of Officers of BRO.
The offences invoked include misappropriation of government funds, cheating, forgery, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy under the IPC, besides criminal misconduct and bribery under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
A total of 10 officers of the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Major and Engineers, along with certain private persons, have been named as accused in the FIRs, the statement added.
The CBI recovered several incriminating documents and digital evidence has been recovered during the searches and investigation is continuing, it stated.
The agency said it remains committed to conducting a comprehensive investigation into the matter in the quickest possible time.
