Ex-ST officer held in 15-yr-old case of financial embezzlement

EOW officials said they were probing transport of scrap passing through U.P. to Uttarakhand which never got there

LUCKNOW: The UP Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Friday arrested the then sales tax officer Ram Chandra Singh from Moradabad in connection with financial bungling worth Rs 2.5 crore in 2006 and 2007. Singh retired around five years back.

In a press note shared by the EOW, the officials said that they were probing the case related to fraud in transportation of iron scrap from Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand to Uttarakhand via Uttar Pradesh.

They said the scrap was utilised within UP without sending it to its real destination in Uttarakhand.

The probe revealed the involvement of some officers of state GST (SGST), earlier known as sales tax, following which prosecution sanction was sought from senior authorities of the department and it was allowed after witnessing evidence collected against them during investigation.

The officials said the former sales tax officer was arrested in the same connection.

Earlier on Thursday, deputy commissioner rank officer of SGST Munni Lal was arrested by EOW from Lucknow and sent in judicial custody after being produced in a competent court in Bareilly.

Officials said the transportation of scrap material was done through Naubatpur checkpost in Chandauli and Bhaguwal checkpost in Bijnor in UP and these two officers remained posted at the same place at the time of commission of crime in 2006-2007.

According to the EOW, Munni Lal was posted as assistant commissioner, sales tax, in Bijnor district. However, all the ferrous metal was used on the UP border by showing the false bahi (receipt) issued by Naubatpur check post.