The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has conducted searches at 26 locations across 11 states and Union Territories, including three Northeast states, in connection with four criminal cases pertaining to misappropriation of funds of the Border Road Organisation (BRO). The searches were carried out in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Delhi, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Maharashtra. These cases relate to irregularities in deployment of casual labourers and payments released in the name of fake casual labourers in the Project Vijayak and Yojak in the Union Territory of Ladakh.
Four FIRs were registered in this connection based on criminal complaints lodged by the Ministry of Defence, based on an internal enquiry conducted by the Technical Board of Officers of BRO. The offence relates to misappropriation of government funds, cheating, forgery, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy under IPC and offence of criminal misconduct and bribery under PC Act, 1988. Altogether 10 officers of the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Major and engineers along with certain private persons have been named in the FIRs. Several incriminating documents and digital evidence have been recovered during the searches and investigation is underway.
The CBI is committed to conduct a comprehensive investigation in these cases in the quickest possible time.
