Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Apr 25: Dire-ctor General of Police, K Rajendra Kumar, has taken swift action after the audit report of Comptroller General of India was submitted to Police Headquarters on misappropriation of Security Related Expenditure (SRE) of Rs 115.68 crore provided by the Government of India for “Carriage of Constabulary and Hiring of Vehicles” to the Jammu and Kashmir Police during Parliamentary and Assembly Elections 2014.
The DGP told Excelsior that immediately after receiving the CAG report; it was referred to the Crime Branch for thorough time bound inquiry. He said that the report should be submitted within 4-5 days. “We will be filing our comments to CAG after receiving the report from Crime Branch and also after satisfying ourselves once again about the observations made by the CAG. We will look into it objectively”, he added.
Kumar said: “We had hired vehicles for 300 companies of paramilitaries during elections in 2014 and followed entire necessary procedures.”
Inspector General of Police, Crime Branch, Muneer Ahmad Khan, told Excelsior that Audit by AG has pinpointed financial indiscipline/irregularities and has cast suspicion over hiring of vehicles by nine Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) during Parliamentary and Assembly elections of 2014.
The Police headquarters ordered inquiry by Crime Branch and recommendations 15 days ago as soon as the report was submitted to it. “I have constituted two teams for the purpose, one at Srinagar and another at Jammu. Srinagar team is headed by SSP Crime, Kashmir Shahid Mehraj and Jammu team by SSP Crime Jammu, Mubasir Latifi. They are being assisted by Finance section and they have been asked to take expert opinion from Finance Department”, he said.
Khan said that they have been asked to submit the report by 30th of this month. “We will analyse it, re-verify and report it to the PHQ for necessary action”, he added.
The IG said that if the allegations are found negative, evidence will be produced and if it is substantiated, again it will be with evidence. “We are already at it”, he added.
In the meantime, there is alleged embezzlement in Rs 30 Crore Security Related Expenditure (SRE) in the Police Control Room Srinagar that was provided to it during Parliamentary and Assembly elections 2014. The swindle is beyond the embezzlement reported by the audit of Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
The audit by CAG says Rs 111.60 Crore was spent by 68 DDOs of the police establishment across the State for Hiring of vehicles and purchase of the Petrol, Oil & Lubricant (POL). The Police Headquarter did not involve the process of open tendering for hiring of vehicles instead had instructed to its DDOs that the process of hiring of vehicles be done from Transport Agencies on the rates of State Road Transport Corporation with 20 per cent discount after adhering all codal formalities.
“The DDOs hired vehicles from transport agencies without any verification and without following any codal formalities. Audit of the records of hiring of vehicles and payments and their cross-verification with collateral evidences suggested fraud and misappropriation of public money”, the reports says.
A top police official, on the condition of anonymity, said that SRTC had told the PCR that they will provide buses to them for the elections but PCR officials got it from private transports directly and made a secret deal with them under which they had to pay some amount to the officials after their bills were cleared.
The Police officer said that the PCR Srinagar also hired vehicles from Jammu for carrying troops from Jammu Railway Station to various locations in Kashmir valley. “An officer of DySP rank was sent to hire the vehicles. This hiring could have been done through PCR Jammu but the officials had monetary interest in it”, he added.
The officer said that the Audit has only picked the hiring of vehicles where they have found the embezzlements but major swindle is beyond it in “Carrying of Constabulary”.
The official said that the taxis were hired by the PCR @ Rs 1200 to Rs 1300 per day while they were paid between Rs 800 to 850 only. “The money in full was given to them through cheques but they were asked to repay in cash Rs 400 to 450 to the officers at the helm of affairs”, he added.
One of the vendors whose Innova was hired by the PCR during elections of 2014 told Excelsior that he submitted bills at the rate of Rs 1350 per day to the PCR but had to repay Rs 550 per day to the officials at the helm in PCR.
The official said that during the Parliamentary and Assembly Elections of 2014, petrol and diseal was provided to the hired vehicles but they were provided half of what actually was shown in the records. He said that a detailed inquiry is needed to trace out this pilferage of fuel.
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