2 retd Cols, Major among 8 jailed in 37-yr-old corruption case
Eight people, including two retired Lt Colonels and a Major, were sentenced to three years in prison in a Rs 3.82 crore scam involving local purchases made at inflated rates for the Military Engineer Services (MES), according to officials. This came more than 36 years after the CBI first filed a case.
According to the CBI, the special court recently jailed Lt Col Satya Pal Sharma (retd), who was at the time serving as Commander Works Engineer (CWE), MES, Allahabad (Colonel Administration, Command Station, Srinagar). Virendra Kumar Jain, then Garrison Engineer (East); YK Uppal, then Garrison Engineer (West); KS Saini, then Garrison Engineer (West); and SS Thakkar, Major, then Garrison Engineer (Air Force), Bamrauli, all posted in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), were the others sentenced alongside him, the agency said in a statement. The owners and partners of various bogus firms Ashok Kumar Deora, Anil Kumar Deora, and Pawan Kumar Deora were all jailed by the court.
On September 25, 1986, the CBI filed a complaint with allegations that large local purchases were made at excessive prices between November and December.
According to a top CBI official, “The amount may appear small in today’s terms, but it was a huge figure when the scam transpired.” On December 19, 1990, the agency had submitted its accusatory document. The trial started in 2019 after the 2002 stay by the Allahabad High Court was vacated after 17 years, according to the officials.
