LTC scam: 5 government employees jailed for four years

New Delhi, June 22: Five Finance Ministry employees, three of whom have retired, and another person have been sent to four years in jail by a Delhi court for fraudulently withdrawing and disbursing Rs 4.2 lakh as Leave Travel Concession (LTC) advances.

Special CBI judge Sanjeev Jain held the six men, including three retired persons, guilty under Prevention of Corruption Act and provisions of the IPC relating to criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery.

The court said a strong and clear message should be given to everyone that no one can conceal corruption and save the corrupt by any means.

"With the passage of time a perception has been made by small section of the society, as if corruption is the safest and shortest way of success which is neither correct nor true. Tolerance to corruption is intolerance to the honesty. Enough is enough. Now, this perception must be repelled," it said.

"The message should be that corruption is not safest and shortest way to success but its a way to jail. Now the writing on every wall should be 'Jo Bhee Rishwat Khaayega Sidha Jail Jaayega' (Whoever will take bribe, will straightaway go to jail)," the judge said while sentencing the convicts.

The court awarded the jail term to Ministry of Finance's Lakhmi Chand, 67, Bale Singh Kasana, 55, Bhagwan Singh, 55, Raghuvender Kumar, 63, and J L Chopra, 70. Chand, Kumar and Chopra have retired now. The court also sentenced S K D Dass Naik, 52, who was earlier in Ministry of Finance and is now working in Ministry of Rural Development at Krishi Bhawan.

The court imposed a fine of Rs one lakh each on Chand, Kasana, Singh, Kumar and Naik and Rs 50,000 on Chopra. The court, however, acquitted Purshottam Lal, who was a peon in Ministry of Finance, in the case by giving him benefit of doubt.

Two accused-- Ramesh Chandra Shukla and Diwakar Dixit-- died during the pendency of the case. A case was registered by CBI on April 20, 2000 on the complaint by Indira Murthy, Under Secretary at Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue.

PTI