LUCKNOW: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday lodged an FIR against three senior officials of horticulture division of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for their role in scraping state coffers of at least Rs 20lakh through ghost billing on mowing lawns of protected monuments.
The Lucknow unit of CBI booked assistant horticulturist Vineet Agrawal, deputy superintending horticulturist P K Chaudhary, administrative officer R K Singh and contractor Kuldeep Singh for criminal breach of trust, forgery, cheating, inducing delivery of property and under Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
Contractor Kuldeep Singh in collusion with assistant horticulturist Vineet Agrawal and other unnamed officers embezzled funds by generating fake invoices for pruning and mowing lawns of ASI-protected Lucknow Residency and Buddhist sites in Kushinagar. The FIR was lodged by Mahesh Gabhane.
The complainant said, fake bills were churned out for payment to 23 ghost labourers between October 2019 and 2021. The bills were verified by horticulturists - Vineet Agrawal, P K Choudhary and Raj Kumar.
Gabhane also said the contractor Kuldeep Singh in collusion with these officers submitted two bills of Rs 8lakh between February 1, 2020, and September 30, 2020, just for pruning Lucknow Residency lawns.
CBI sources said, the scam could be just the tip of an iceberg as similar fake invoices were submitted for reimbursement for mowing lawns at other ASI-protected monuments, including Taj Mahal, Akbar's Tomb Garden, Sikandara, Ram Bagh, Fatehpur Sikri by contractor Kuldeep Singh in collusion with other officials.
