Fraud in Deb department

TT, Siliguri, Sept. 7: Two contract employees in the North Bengal development department have been arrested for siphoning off Rs 1.22 lakh.

The duo - Alok Minz and Ranjan Rauth - are now in police custody.

"During an internal audit recently, it was found that the department should have earned a total sum of around Rs 2.75 lakh against the sale of tender forms and final contract documents during the financial years of 2012-2013 and 2013-2014. However, it was found that only Rs 1.53 lakh had been deposited. The balance Rs 1.22 lakh was not deposited with the department," north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb said today.

"Our officials conducted an inquiry and found that two contractual clerks, assigned with the responsibility of selling these documents, had not deposited the money," he said.

Last Wednesday, Dipankar Piplai, a deputy secretary in the department, filed a complaint at Pradhannagar police station against Minz and Rauth.

Sudip Roy Basunia, the assistant public prosecutor in Siliguri, said: "They were produced at the additional chief judicial magistrate's court last Friday. Charges under the IPC Sections 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant or banker, merchant or agent) and Section 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) have been brought against them. They are in police custody now."

Police officers investigating the case said they are trying to find out if the duo had forged contract documents and tender forms to make additional money.

"Say, these people are provided with 10 tender forms and two contract documents from the office. They are supposed to sell these to contractors at fixed rates and deposit the proceeds with the department," a police source said. "Preliminary investigations have revealed that they had not deposited the money. We are also trying to find out whether they have forged such forms and documents and made more money by selling more number of documents."

After the department was set up, in 2011-2012, the tendering process for most projects was done by the state PWD and other departments because of the lack of infrastructure. From 2012-13, the department started issuing tenders. On April 1, 2014, e-tendering was introduced, which brought the process of selling tender forms and other documents to a halt, an official said.