CBI chargesheets Selvel, Outdoor directors

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 13

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today filed a chargesheet in a special CBI court against four persons, including the directors of Selvel Media and Outdoor Communication, a former MC Superintending Engineer and the two companies, in the MC toilet scam, which allegedly caused a loss of Rs 13.66 crore to the exchequer.

Ramesh Chander Diwan, a former MC Superintending Engineer, Jimmy Subawalla, Director, Bishwadeep Dutta, General Manager, Selvel Media Services Pvt Ltd, and Mysa Ganesh, Director, Outdoor Communication Pvt Ltd, have been named as the accused in the challan submitted in the court. The two companies have also been made accused in the chargesheet.

The accused have been challaned under Section 420 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120-B of the IPC. The CBI court today served a notice on all accused for December 1 to file a reply before the court.

Almost eight months after registering a preliminary inquiry, the CBI had, in December 2014, registered an FIR against eight persons in connection with alleged undue benefits given to Selvel Media Services Pvt Ltd in the maintenance of public toilets and advertising.

The CBI had booked former Chief Engineer SK Bansal, former Superintending Engineer SR Aggarwal and RC Diwan, a former Superintending Engineer, Public Health, along with directors and employees of the company.

The case was registered for allegedly giving undue benefit to the company in bagging a tender for the operation and maintenance of 86 public toilets and displaying advertisements on these between 2007 and 2012.

The tender was allegedly manipulated and the advertisement fee was waived, CBI officials said. Selvel initially bagged the tender to maintain 86 toilets in 2007 at a cost of around Rs 8,000 per toilet with an enhancement of 10 per cent every year for five years.