CBI books two former Army officers on bribery charge

The CBI has registered a case against two former senior Army officers for taking over Rs 82 lakh in bribes from a civilian supplier between 2012- 2016 for procuring ration for troops posted in Nagaland, agency sources said on Tuesday.

Lt Col Amit Sharma and Lt Col Sutikshan Rana were booked following a complaint from Brigadier Rajiv Gautam, posted at the headquarters of Army's 3 Corps.

Sharma and Rana, officers of the Army Service Corps, received bribes worth Rs 58.62 lakh and Rs 22.92 lakh, respectively, from supplier Jai Prakash Singh between 2012 and 2016, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official said requesting anonymity.

Sharma was commanding officer of the Army Service Corps (Supply) Type 'C' at Dimapur from July 27, 2012 to October 15, 2014, while Rana held the position from October 16, 2014 to September 10, 2016.

The Army court of inquiry held the officers guilty of taking bribes.

The CBI had first registered a preliminary enquiry (PE) in the matter. During the seven-month-long PE, the CBI managed to establish payments of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 3.40 lakh from the ration supplier to the two Army officers.

The payments were made through bank deposits of third parties known or close to the family members of Sharma and Rana.

In his complaint, Brigadier Gautam had stated that the "magnitude of corruption is much more than what has been revealed by Army investigations. Therefore, detailed further investigations are required by the CBI to unravel the complete nexus of corrupt officers, their disproportionate assets and to ensure that perpetrators of corrupt practices and crimes are tied and punished under the Prevention of Corruption Act".

--IANS

rak/nir