Dehradun CBI court sentences eight officials to two years' jail in PWD fraud case

Dehradun, March 21 (IANS) A special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation has convicted and sentenced eight officials to two years of rigorous imprisonment along with a total fine of Rs 2.85 lakh in connection with a Rs 55 lakh Public Works Department (PWD) fraud case of 2003.

The CBI court in Dehradun on Friday convicted the former officials -- Deepak Kumar Verma (LDC), Madan Pal (Mate), Mani Ram (Beldar), Surendra Kumar Kaushik (Driver), Kasim (retired Beldar) of PWD Haridwar, Sukhpal Singh (UDC), Chatar Singh (Roller Driver) of PWD Roorkee, and Palu Das (Assistant Treasury Officer, Treasury Haridwar) -- sentencing each of them to rigorous imprisonment for two years along with the cumulative fine.

The case was originally registered by the CBI on August 9, 2003, following directions issued by the Uttarakhand High Court on May 7, 2003, in a civil writ petition that ordered the transfer of the investigation to the central agency.

According to the CBI, the allegations pertain to the period between 2001 and 2002, when certain officials of the PWD in Haridwar, in collusion with private individuals, fraudulently withdrew government funds by issuing and encashing forged and unauthorised departmental cheques amounting to Rs 55,10,511.

After completing its probe, the agency filed a charge sheet on June 15, 2005, against a total of 12 public servants and eight private individuals accused in the case.

The agency further stated that during the course of the trial, four accused persons -- Ravindra Shrivastava, Sukhchand Tyagi, Dharmendra Kumar Bhatnagar and Ilamchan -- died, leading to the abatement of proceedings against them.

In addition, seven accused -- Rekha Negi, Punam Verma, Pratibha, Sanjay Kumar, Chandrawati, Rajpal and Reena Srivastav -- pleaded guilty earlier during the trial and were convicted separately by the trial court, the CBI said.

Following the conclusion of the trial, the court convicted the remaining accused and awarded the sentences accordingly, while acquitting Pradeep Kumar Verma, a private individual, of all charges.

--IANS

sd/skp