CBI slaps second case against IITM scientist for irregularities in SAFAR project
New Delhi (PTI): The CBI has registered a second FIR against IITM-Pune scientist Gurfan Beig and others for the alleged sanctioning of China-made LED boards for air quality and weather information display at exorbitant rates to be installed in Ahmedabad, officials said on Monday.
Beig was earlier charge-sheeted in a separate case related to such LED boards to be installed in Pune. His application to be discharged from the case was dismissed by the special court recently.
The fresh case, filed recently, pertains to the installation of LED boards in Ahmedabad, they said.
The agency has alleged that Beig and other unidentified officials of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) had diluted the terms and conditions and the essential specifications of items in the tender for the installation of the digital display system (DDS) under the project System for Air Quality and Weather Forecasting & Research for Ahmedabad (SAFAR-Ahmedabad).
The tender for 12 LED display boards, four indoor LED displays to be supplied, fixed and installed along with an operation and maintenance contract for five years was awarded to Mumbai-based Video Wall India Private Limited, they said.
It is also alleged that Anil Girkar, director of Video Wall India, fraudulently claimed that his company was an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the boards. However, he imported the panels from China and assembled them for supply to the IITM. The boards allegedly did not meet the specifications given in the tender.
Girkar and Video Wall India are also accused in the CBI FIR along with Beig.
According to the CBI, the boards that were imported for Rs 54 lakh at the rate of Rs 4.50 lakh per piece were supplied for Rs 1.76 crore at the rate of Rs 14.70 lakh per piece.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had already filed a charge sheet against Beig and Girkar in similar charges for the supply of boards for the SAFAR-Pune Project in 2021.
The agency had alleged in the charge sheet that Beig being the chairperson of the Technical Evaluation Committee diluted the pre-bid conditions.
He allegedly reduced the last three years' turnover limit drastically from Rs 50 crore to Rs 3 crore to accommodate Video Wall India as one of the bidders.
It was alleged that he rejected the bid of MIC Electronics Ltd, Hyderabad, for the SAFAR Project at Pune on bogus and flimsy grounds.
In its charge sheet, the CBI alleged that in the test report in respect of Digital Display Boards supplied by Video Wall India, Beig and others certified that the items had been found okay as per the specifications of the IITM and also recommended to pass the bills of the supplier for payment, without having tested the items at any laboratory to ascertain or confirm the specification.
The CBI alleged that Beig did not ask for the source of procurement as well as the make of the items and certified the certifications based on the self-certified test reports obtained from the supplier itself.
A special court recently rejected the application of Beig to be discharged from the case noting that there "appears grave suspicion and sufficient ground" to proceed with trial against him.
"The charge against the present applicant and accused does not appear groundless," the court had noted.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
