CBI books 5 HAL employees in Rs 13.28 crore fraud case in Odisha

The CBI has registered five cases against employees of HAL Engine Division at Koraput, Odisha for allegedly causing a loss of Rs 13.28 crore to the public sector undertaking, officials said Wednesday.

It is alleged that Bhaben Mitra, Senior Manager Finance, in conspiracy with other employees misappropriated amounts by committing forgery of documents, siphoning off Rs 13.28 crore from the coffers of the cash-strapped PSU during 2013-17.

The alleged cheating, which started with Rs 13.11 lakh in 2013 touched a new height during 2017 when Rs 7.78 crore was siphoned off from the company using fake bills, they said.

The agency registered five FIRs against Mitra and other employees of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Koraput on Tuesday.

In October last year too, the agency had booked Mitra for alleged embezzlement of Rs 5 crore during January-August, 2018 by submitting fake bills, work orders and invoices.

The agency had carried out searches during which it found incriminating documents substantiating that the alleged fraud was going on for long in the government-run institute.

The HAL Vigilance Department had on Tuesday sent five complaints related to frauds committed from 2013 to 2017, they said.

Based on these complaints, the agency has registered fresh cases against Mitra, other staff members and private persons allegedly involved in the scam.