The Wilson Garden police have registered an FIR against six BMTC officials for allegedly forging the signatures of senior officers to tamper with documents and award contracts and tenders to undeserving applicants. Due to this, the corporation has incurred a loss of ₹76 lakh in a span of three years.
Assistant security and vigilance officer C.K. Ramya conducted a probe and found that the accused were involved in large-scale irregularities and filed a complaint.
Based on the complaint, the police charged the accused identified as Sriram Mulkavan, Shamala S. Muddodi, Mamatha B.K., Anitha T., Satish, and Prakash Koppala, charging them under cheating, forgery and criminal breach of trust.
The accused, according to the complaint, not only forged the signature of senior officials of the corporation, but also forged documents pertaining to the commercial section and tender notification division. Citing examples of some of the forgeries, Ms. Ramya said in her complaint that the accused helped the lowest bidder get the contract, incurring a loss to the corporation worth ₹9.4 lakh in May last year.
In a similar forgery, the accused forged the signature of the Directors and manipulated the records to extend the rent free gestation period for a vendor at Mallasandra bus stand commercial complex. This according to the probe caused the corporation a loss to the tune of ₹52.15 lakh.
The accused also forged the signatures of the then BMTC (IT) Director A.V. Surya Sen and MD V. Anbu Kumar to not only award the maintenance contract at BTM Layout bus stand but also helped the contractors get additional maintenance charges of ₹10.6 lakh sanctioned from the corporation.
After the charges were proven, the accused have been suspended from service and a criminal case has been registered against them.
The Wilson Garden police have taken up investigation and sought some documents.
