CBI Names Army Officers And A Company For Scam In Installation Of Mobile Towers In Kanpur Cantt

Lucknow, September 4 (TNA) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has named Brigadier Naveen Singh, station commander of Kanpur station headquarters between 2016 and 2019, his staff officer Lt Col RP Ram, Col Dushyant Singh and Lucknow-based company Indus Towers Limited, who installed the tower, in a case.

The CBI, Lucknow's Anti-Corruption Branch had registered a case of rigging in the installation of a mobile tower (cell tower on wheels) in Cantt area of Kanpur. The CBI has collected important evidence by raiding the residence of the three army officers at Lucknow Cantt and the company's office at BBD Tower in Vibhuti Khand on Sunday.

Brigadier Naveen Singh is currently posted in Lucknow. According to the FIR registered by the CBI, the investigating agency had received information from reliable sources that Brigadier Naveen Singh, during his posting in Kanpur, had illegally assigned the work of installation of seven mobile towers to Lucknow-based Indus Towers Limited Company.

It was the responsibility of the Cantonment Board to get this work done. In this regard, the Ministry of Defense had also issued guidelines through circular in the year 2018. Preliminary inquiry revealed that Brigadier Naveen Singh did not follow the guidelines given by the Defense Ministry. They did not even constitute a board to mark the place for installation of mobile towers.

The rent received on the installation of the tower was not deposited in the government treasury. There is a possibility that this rent will be usurped by the accused military officers. This led to apprehensions that the army officers misusing their official position to favor Indus Towers Limited and took undue advantage from the company.

Tender was to be issued after trial

Investigation revealed that Lt. Col. RP Ram, who was the staff officer of the Station Commander, gave work to Indus Towers Limited as a trial, saying that tenders would be issued after six months, after which towers were installed at two places. After this, he took the permission of Brigadier Naveen Singh and gave him the task of installing towers at all the seven places. The company deposited Rs 26,40,750 as rent in August 2019, while the towers were commissioned in August 2018.