Uttarakhand CM suspends senior Home Guards Officer over alleged uniform procurement irregularities
Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday ordered the immediate suspension of Deputy Inspector General and Deputy Commandant General (DCG) Home Guards Amitabh Srivastava over alleged financial irregularities in the procurement of uniforms in the Home Guards and Civil Defence department.
The chief minister also directed the constitution of a joint inquiry committee to investigate the matter, which pertains to the 2024-25 financial year, as reported by Hindustan Times. Officials said uniforms worth around ₹1 crore were allegedly procured at an inflated cost of nearly ₹3 crore, causing a substantial loss to the state exchequer.
The irregularities came to light after Director General of Home Guards PVK Prasad noticed that a fresh tender for 2025-26 had been floated at the same inflated rates. The DG cancelled the tender and ordered a departmental inquiry, which found that Srivastava had allegedly colluded with a contractor to manipulate the tender process and procure uniforms at nearly three times the market price.
Based on the inquiry findings, the DG recommended strict action, including registration of a criminal case and recovery of ₹2 crore. He said the report was forwarded to the state government for further action after the inquiry established a financial loss of around ₹2 crore.
Officials said the tender process was allegedly structured to favour a particular contractor and was halted once the discrepancies were detected. Following the inquiry, the department stopped further procurement of uniforms through the tender route and is considering providing a uniform allowance directly to Home Guard personnel to purchase their own uniforms.
A senior government official said the suspension was ordered on the DG’s recommendation, along with the formation of a joint inquiry committee to conduct a detailed probe into the matter.
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If CM Stalin had 'full powers', Tirunelveli campaigning would not have happened: TVK chief Vijay
Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu) (PTI): TVK chief Vijay launched a scathing attack on the ruling DMK during a campaign rally in Tirunelveli, alleging that if Chief Minister M K Stalin had "full powers", the event would not have happened.
"The CM would have put some kind of obstacle and prevented us from coming. But now, this is a "caretaker government," as it is called, and he's a CM without authority," Vijay said.
Dubbing the DMK-led bloc a "cash-box alliance", the actor-turned-politician alleged it was formed using "looted" money. He claimed the constituent parties lack internal unity, stating that "people in the alliance won't even cast vote for each other".
Taking a swipe at the grand old party, Vijay alleged that the DMK had "pocketed" the Tamil Nadu Congress by "giving crores". However, he asserted that the "real Congress" stands on the TVK's side.
Characterising his party's deep connection with its cadres, Vijay remarked, "This might be just an election for others, but for those with TVK, this is an emotion."
