Highway scam: Govt recommends CBI probe

LUCKNOW: The state government has recommended a CBI probe into the multi-crore Delhi-Saharanpur-Yamunotri highway scam. The UP State Highways Authorities (UPSHA) had floated the tender for the construction of the highway. Principal secretary, Home, Arvind Kumar said the letter recommending a CBI probe had been sent to DOPT on May 16.

The state government has recommended a CBI probe into the multicrore Delhi-Saharanpur-Yamunotri highway scam. The Uttar Pradesh State Highways Authorities (UPSHA) had floated the tender for the construction of the highway in West UP.

Principal secretary, Home, Arvind Kumar said on Monday the letter recommending a CBI probe had been sent to department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) on May 16.

The Uttar Pradesh State Highways Authorities (UPSHA) officials had lodged a first information report (FIR) against four officials of a Hyderabad construction firm and officials and chartered accountants of 14 different banks at Vibhuti Khand police station here on February 20.

General manager (projects) of the UPSHA Shiv Kumar Awadhiya has in his FIR accused four officials of SEWLSY Highways Limited of Hyderabad of criminal breach of trust, cheating by impersonation and fraud with help of chartered accountants and officials of 14 different banks of Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Secunderbad.

He said the firm officials got loans cleared from these banks through fraudulent means on the basis of contract work for construction of Delhi-Saharanpur-Yamunotri four-lane highway allotted to the firm in March, 2012.

A departmental inquiry exposed the fraud following which chief executive officer of UPSHA Navneet Sehgal ordered FIR in the matter, he said.

Inspector of Vibhuti Khand police station Kunwar Prabhat Singh said those named in the FIR were two promoter directors of the construction firm, Sukarwa Anil and Aloi Saibaba, and two directors PS Murthy and Y Venkatraghvan.

He said the complainant said the firm completed only construction work worth Rs 148 crore and but got loan worth Rs 603 crore cleared. He said the documents related to the project had been sought from the UPSHA and further probe in the matter was on.

AWADHIYA SAID THE FIRM OFFICIALS GOT LOANS CLEARED FROM THESE BANKS THROUGH FRAUDULENT MEANS