LTC fraud case accused wants to turn approver

One of the accused in the Leave Travel Concession (LTC) fraud case against Rajya Sabha member Anil Kumar Sahani moved an application on Thursday in a court here, seeking to become approver.

An employee of Delhi-based Air Cruise Travels Private Limited, Anup Singh Panwar moved an application before Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge Virender Kumar Goyal, seeking to become approver in the case.

The court has directed probe agency to file reply on Panwar's plea and listed the matter for April 26 for further hearing. The court on Wednesday granted bail to Sahani, then Office Superintendent of Air India N.S. Nair, and Panwar.

Meanwhile, the court issued non-bailable warrant against another accused, Arvind Tiwari, who works with Murgai Travels and did not turn up before the court despite summons.

Sahani and others have been booked under various sections dealing with cheating, forgery and provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act.

The case was registered on October 31, 2013, against Sahani and others.

The CBI alleged in 2012 Sahani entered a criminal conspiracy with Air Cruise Travels Private Limited and others aiming to cheat the government by claiming fake reimbursement of expenditure incurred on performing purported air journeys along with other companions.

The CBI said Sahani, in collusion with other persons, used forged e-tickets and fake boarding passes and claim to the tune of Rs 14 lakh as Travelling Allowance and Daily Allowance (TA/DA) reimbursement without undertaking the actual journey.

The court has observed that Sahani also committed offence under Section 201 (destruction of evidence) as he destroyed the TA Claim form and erased and deleted the signature from the e-tickets which he had taken back from the office of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat in the name of verification.

Sahani, a Janata Dal-United (JD-U) member from Bihar, however, denied the charges.

--IANS

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