CB hands over e-challaning devices scam probe to ACB

Sumit Sharma. Updated: 4/25/2019 11:40:26 AM Front Page

JAMMU: Finding alleged role of police officers in the procurement scam of hand-held e-challan devices for traffic police at 14-times higher price, the Crime Branch has handed over the investigation in the case to Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB).

The 30 hand-held e-challan devices were supplied to the traffic police at a cost 14 times higher than the market price.

In this regard, Jammu and Kashmir Crime Branch registered FIR against unidentified officials of the state police and Jammu and Kashmir Small Scale Industries Development Corporation Limited (SICOP).

“Due to the involvement of police officials, it is quite impossible for the Crime Branch to investigate the matter properly. In this regard the case has been handed over to ACB,” Official sources in the Anti Corruption Bureau.

“It was surfaced that the e- challing was started in the year 2017 as a trial basis in Srinagar, where Traffic Police diverted challan money to the HDFC bank. Diverting of challan money to HDFC bank instead of Jammu and Kashmir Bank continued for four months. Four PoS machines for e- challan were provided by the HDFC bank,” an officer associated with probe told The News Now.

He added that ACB had written a letter to the HDFC bank authorities to clear its stand whether the bank has obtained any approval from government as the government treasuries are connected with the J&K Bank.

The PHQ realized that it was duped after it found the price of the equipment was raised nearly 14 times higher by SICOP.

The tender for purchase of the devices was issued in 2016. SICOP emerged as the lowest bidder and agreed to supply the equipment from M/s Vehant Technologies a Noida-based company at a cost of Rs 20,100 per piece.

However, after the purchase order was issued by the police headquarters in March last year, the tender formalities were changed and the machines were purchased from a Hyderabad-based company at a cost of Rs 2,21,350 per piece.

According to the FIR, SICOP had claimed that the Noida-based vendor had refused to supply the e-challan machines to the Jammu and Kashmir Police, but during preliminary inquiry it was found that the company had written no such letter.

The crime branch official said the devices supplied by the Hyderabad-based firm to SICOP costs only Rs 27,500 per piece, but it was billed to police at Rs 2,21,350 per piece.

It was alleged that the supplier in connivance with some officials of SICOP and the state police has manipulated the process and supplied the equipment at 14 times higher the price.

When some of the devices were supplied, a committee headed by former IG Traffic Basant Rath discovered some irregularities in the matter.

The committee ascertained that SICOP had not supplied the Hand-held Devices manufactured by Vehant Technologies for which they had quoted the price of 2.2 lakh per device.

Instead, they had supplied hand-held e-challan device Model G-11 POS manufactured by Visiontek that costed a fraction of the quoted amount- 22 thousand rupees per device.

After this discovery, the release of payment to SICOP was stopped and a Committee was set up headed by former IGP Traffic Basant Rath to probe into the matter.

Considering manipulation of equipment prices and forgery of authorization letter, an FIR was ordered in the matter in August 2018.


Comment on this Story