GUWAHATI: City-based NGO, Assam Public Works (APW) has filed yet another FIR with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) here against former state coordinator of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Prateek Hajela, for alleged misappropriation of funds to the tune of about Rs 35 crore during the NRC update exercise in Assam.
The NGO also filed a case against Wipro Limited which was entrusted as one of the prime software installation companies by Hajela. Accordingly, Wipro was engaged as the system integrator during the update process of NRC.
This is the sixth case lodged against Hajela by APW, one of the main petitioners which had approached the Supreme Court seeking update of NRC to detect illegal foreigners living in the state.
“We are ready to file altogether 22 FIRs in various investigation agencies against Hajela and his close aides,” APW president, Aabhijeet Sharma told the media on Wednesday.
“Both central and state governments are silent and not interested in taking steps against corruption during the NRC update process in Assam. Even the investigation agencies are not interested to find out the truth in this regard,” Sharma said.
According to the FIR filed with the CBI office in the city on Monday, an amount of Rs 34.76 crore was released to Wipro Limited for procurement and installation of 3700 (1-2 KVA) generators at 2500 NSKs across the state, each amounting to Rs 93,964.
“However, after a field inquiry by the auditor at some NSKs, it came to light that the generators were not purchased but hired. Moreover, the market price of the hired generators was Rs. 35,000 each as against RS 93,964, which clearly indicates the involvement of the then state coordinator, NRC with Wipro, causing huge amount of loss to government exchequer,” it was stated in the FIR.
A 1995-batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, Hajela was transferred to Madhya Pradesh under the direction of the Supreme Court following publication of the NRC update in August last year. He relinquished his charge on November 11 and left the state.
Official reports on April 1, 2020 stated that Hajela was removed as commissioner of health services, Madhya Pradesh on the ground of “dereliction of duty” during the COVID-19 pandemic.