CBI arrests South Western Command IDAS officer for graft; ADGPI rebuts

The CBI has arrested an Indian Defense Accounts Service (IDAS) officer and five others in a corruption case relating to Army's South Western Command. Meanwhile, Additional Directorate General of Public Information(ADGPI) of Ministry of Defence (Army) had issued a denial in connection with the purported arrest of Army official.

Jaipur/New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested six persons, including an Indian Defense Accounts Service (IDAS) officer of Army's South Western Command, on charges of corruption in awarding works to private firms at the Army’s facility in Jaipur. The agency has seized Rs 40 lakh in cash during searches conducted after the arrest of the integrated financial officer in the Rs 10 lakh bribery case, officials said on Friday.

The investigating agency has arrested Uma Shankar Prasad Kushwaha, a 1998-batch IDAS officer attached to the South Western Command in Jaipur along with Ram Roop Meena, an accounts officer posted at the IFA office, Vijay Nama, a junior translator, and alleged middleman Rajendra Singh of Jaipur-based Tanushree Services.

Official sources said, "the accused of the three private firms entered into a conspiracy and were obtaining all works related to outsourcing of maintenance services for various locations in South Western Command and for extending undue favor in the award of the said works, bypassing the provisions of GeM as well as for payment of bills without objection. The companies had allegedly conspired to bribe the IFA officials to get their bills cleared without any hurdles."

Officials further said, "Kushwaha, in connivance with Meena, Nama, and Singh, was regularly demanding and obtaining illegal gratification from the accused private contractors to clear their bills and favor them in getting contracts, in violation of guidelines. Searches were conducted at nine different places, including Jaipur, Jind, Bathinda, and Ganganagar."

"Cash of Rs 40 lakh, various property documents belonging to public servants, and incriminating documents were recovered during these raids. All the arrested accused will be produced before a special CBI court in Haryana’s Panchkula," the CBI official said.

Meanwhile, the Additional Directorate General of Public Information(ADGPI) of Ministry of Defence (Army) has tweeted an image tagging a newspaper report and the rebuttal claimed that no Army official has been arrested as stated in the press release from the CBI.