DGM among two BSNL officials booked by CBI for purchase fraud

Jammu, Feb 26 (PTI) The CBI has booked two topofficials of BSNL and a private company for allegedirregularities in purchase of portable linemen testers,official sources said here today.

An FIR has been registered against a Deputy GeneralManager (DGM) and a Divisional Engineer (DE) of Bharat SancharNigam Limited (BSNL) for causing loss to the governmentexchequer by purchasing testers at 20 times the orginal costs,they said.

The CBI has also booked a Ghaziabad-based privatecompany Sain Telemetics, which had supplied testers.

The BSNL officials have been identified as Kunj BihariSharma, presently DGM (Mobiles) Udhampur, who had been postedas Telecom District Manager (TDM), BSNL Udhampur at the timeof purchases and Jasbir Singh, DE, presently posted in theoffice of TDM Udhampur.

The officials had placed the orders of eight testerswith Sain Telemetics, Ghaziabad at a cost of Rs 24,900 perpiece, they said. However,investigations conducted by the CBIrevealed that original cost of the testers was just Rs 1700per piece.

In fact, Sain Telemetics had purchased the testersfrom a PSU ICISIL, New Delhi, at a cost of Rs 1700 andsupplied it to the BSNL at Rs 24,900 per piece, they said.

The CBI has charged the BSNL officials with connivingwith Sain Telemetics to purchase the testers at an exhorbitantprice.

Investigations into the case have been entrusted toDeputy Superintendent of Police (CBI) Radhey Shyam under thesupervision of Armandeep Singh, Head of the CBI branch ofJammu and officiating SP.

However, no arrests have been made so far by the CBI,sources said, adding the record pertaining to the purchase hasbeen seized.