CBI books Noida Mint officials in graft case

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case against five officials of the Indian Government Mint in Noida in connection with corruption allegations with respect to the awarding of a contract to supply 3,855 metric tonnes of Rs 10 Bi-metallic Composite Coin Blanks in 2010, officials here said.

He added that what stands out is that the purported undue favour to the supplier was granted by officials more than two and half years after the contract was executed.

The CBI has booked the IGM's General Manager in Noida, GP Agarwal; Yespal Singh, Chief Manager (TO), IGM, Noida; Praveen Gupta, Deputy Manager (F&A), IGM, Noida; Surendra Kumar, Assitant Manager, (F&A), IGM, Noida and Rajkumar R, Officer (Material) & CPSO in charge, IGM, Noida along with Mittal Appliances Ltd, the supplier on a complaint from the vigilance department of the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited.

According to the case, the contract to supply the composite coin blanks of Rs 10 currency was awarded to Mittal Appliances after following all rules and regulations in 2011. Following this, a system was set up for the supplier to provide materials to four of India's Mints in Noida, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata in small tranches.

While the file for Mittal Appliances (MAL) was closed in the organisation after having executed the contract successfully, a vigilance inquiry found that two and half years after the contract was executed, a file noting was initiated referring to a mysterious pending amount remaining to be paid to Mittal Appliances, one of the two suppliers who were awarded similar contracts. The inquiry report revealed that without any mention of a Standing Committee of General Managers, which is the procedure, the file noting referencing an outstanding payment to MALwas taken forward, which had resulted in a payment of Rs 1.56 crore to the supplier, amounting to providing undue favour to the company.

As per the recent amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act, the CBI had sought sanction to register a case against the officials from the competent authority and booked them after receiving the sanction. The case was registered on February 21, while the complaint was submitted in May last year.