BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Economic offences wing (EOW) is caught in a peculiar situation owing to its pending investigation into the mammoth e-tendering scam. Investigation hit a wall as the reports are pending with Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), Delhi.
A fresh reminder is being sent to the national agency for support in the matter. Officers say, the Covid lockdown hampered the probe to a large extent. EOW had sent multiple reminders to CERT-In in the past. “It’s a huge amount of data which has to be examined. Unless we get a report from the CERT-in, there can’t be any significant progress in the case” said a senior officer.
CERT-In had initially detected breach in 54 more tenders that was sent to it by the probe agency. EOW officials say they are waiting for CERT-In’s official report to act against all those involved.
EOW officials had been trying to connect the dots between IT professionals, new private companies, bureaucrats and political leaders believed to be involved in the scam. Names of a former minister and two of his personal secretaries have also cropped up during investigations. A previous report by the computer emergency response team pointed out to the fact that tampering in the e-tendering process was done from the systems used by the private IT company accessing Wi-Fi connections and mobile hotspots, some beyond international borders.
Alleged breach in Madhya Pradesh state electronic development corporation (MPSEDC) software had led to the Rs 3,000- crore scam, forcing the government to revoke nine of its major tenders floated in 2018. Investigators believe all tenders issued by MPSEDC since 2013 worth over Rs 80,000 crore have been tampered with. In July, the Supreme Court asked a trial court in Madhya Pradesh to conclude the trial and pronounce the judgment in ‘e-tendering’ scam within 12 months. The apex court dismissed a special leave petition (SPL) bail plea filed by one of the accused, who had been in jail for the last two years.
The trial court was directed to conclude the trial and pronounce the judgment within a period of one year from the date of receipt of the copy of the order.
On April 11, 2019, a day after registering an FIR into the e-tendering scam against directors of seven private companies and ‘unknown bureaucrats and politicians’, Madhya Pradesh state economic offences wing (EOW) had rounded up three software professionals and raided a company jointly operated by them, for allegedly hacking government portal and ‘modifying contents’.
IP addresses of the systems used to breach the e-tendering software of Madhya Pradesh State Electronic Development Corporation (MPSEDC) were allegedly traced to the desktop and mobile phones of the company and its directors.
The portal was using encryption keys via internet connections used by this company, say officials. E-tendering is said to be the biggest ever ‘scam’ that the agency has ever investigated. The probe began on the orders of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The then chief secretary BP Singh asked EOW to begin an investigation based on an interim report submitted by former director of MPSED, senior IAS officer Manish Rastogi, after the cancellation of 9 tenders.
