The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked 18 persons, including four Navy officials, for allegedly submitting forged contingent bills amounting to ₹6.76 crore.
The accused officials of the Western Naval Command and five others from the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (PCDA) for Navy in Mumbai conspired with private entities to furnish the forged bills, to show that IT hardware equipment were supplied and IT services extended to the Command headquarters.
Among those arraigned are Captain Atul Kulkarni, Commanders Mandar Godbole and R.P. Sharma, Kuldeep Singh Baghel, and five private companies. A complaint alleging submission of fake bills was first submitted to the authorities concerned in October 2017.
During the inquiry, seven suspicious bills pertaining to the Western Naval Command headquarters were found. The bills were passed and payments were cleared in March 2016. Physical copies of the bills were not available at the PCDA’s Mumbai office.
As it turned out, using the Financial Information System, one of the contingency bills was allegedly prepared by Commander Godbole and six by Commander Sharma.
