CBI files chargesheet in two-year-old graft case

The CBI has filed a chargesheet against eight persons, including two Army men, in an alleged graft case registered two years ago.

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The chargesheet has been filed against Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) officer Uma Shankar Prasad Kushwaha, serving as Integrated Financial Adviser; Vijay Nama, a junior translator; two Army soldiers Sandeep Rajput and Dev Kumar Sharma; Rajendra Singh who runs Tanushree Services in Jaipur, Rajasthan, and JS Bedi who deals in the supply of security gadgets, including CCTV cameras and metal detectors, in Chandigarh.

The chargesheet has been filed for the offences punishable under Sections 7, 7A, 8, 12 and 120B of Indian Penal Code. The Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB), Chandigarh, had registered a case on June 21, 2023, on secret information that JS Bedi of ML Agencies, located in Anand Complex, Sector 17, had allegedly been obtaining contracts for supplying goods to an Army unit in Bikaner Cantt, Rajasthan, by bypassing GeM regulations and bribing Uma Shankar Prasad Kushwaha, an IDAS officer.

Kushwaha, serving as the Integrated Financial Adviser for the South Western Command in Jaipur, was responsible for approving financial matters related to the unit.

As per the FIR, illegal gratification was obtained by the public servants from private parties with whom they dealt with in official capacity. These acts disclose commission of cognisable offences punishable under the Prevention of the Corruption Act, 1988.

The CBI claimed in the FIR that Sandeep Rajput was directed by Dev Kumar Verma, another Army official posted at Bikaner, to share his bank account details with JS Bedi. Accordingly, Sandeep Rajput received the alleged bribe money transferred by Bedi for Kushwaha in the bank account. The CBI further claimed that Sandeep Rajput also received a payment of undue advantage of Rs 49,500 in his SBI account from JS Bedi. It said Rajput had met Rajendra Singh and delivered him the money.

The CBI claimed that immediately after the meeting, Rajput confirmed Dev Kumar Verma about delivery of the undue advantage. The CBI Court has issued notices to the accused for April 5.