CBI files case against two Army officers

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a case against two Army officers - Lt Col Amit Sharma and Lt Col Sutikshan Rana - for taking bribes worth over Rs 82 lakh from a civilian supplier in the procurement of ration for troops posted in Nagaland.
The action has been taken on 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 the supplier – Jai Prakash Singh between 2012 and 2016.
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 the bribe.
The central anti-corruption probe agency had first registered a preliminary enquiry (PE) in the matter. During the seven month long PE, CBI managed to establish payments of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 3.40 lakh from Singh to Sharma and Rana, respectively, the officials said.
The payments were made through bank deposits of third parties known or close to the family members of Sharma and Rana, sources said.
In his complaint, 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”.