SHILLONG, Aug 3: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against unknown officials of the state Transport Department, the Director of a private company based at Mumbai and others on charges of irregularities in the tender process for the High Security Registration Plates (HSRPs).
The FIR filed by CBI said that the Meghalaya government had floated a tender for HSRPs in 2003 for which three companies based in Mumbai and Delhi participated. The three companies were Shimnit Utsch India Pvt Ltd, Real Industries Ltd (name since changed to Real Mazon India Ltd) and Tonnjes Eastern Security Technologies Pvt Ltd (name since changed to Test Security Licence Plates Pvt Ltd).
The CBI said that Nitin Shah, Director of Mumbai-based Shimnit Utsch India Pvt. Ltd., colluded with unknown officials of the state Transport Department and rigged the said tender process by submitting collusive bids through entities controlled by him.
“All the three bidders were controlled by Nitin Shah, the director of Shimnit Utsch India Pvt Ltd,” the FIR by CBI alleged.
“It was further alleged that the director of said company in collusion with unknown officials of the transport department of the Government of Meghalaya rigged the said tender process by submitting collusive bids through entities controlled by him,” CBI spokesperson RC Joshi said.
The FIR alleged that the work was awarded to the said private company of Mumbai at four to five times more than the rates for the rest of India in 2005.
The CBI has registered a case under sections 120B (Punishment of criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of Prevention of Corruption Act was registered by the CBI on July 29 against Shah and unknown officials of Meghalaya Transport Department and others.
When contacted, a CBI official in Shillong said agency’s Delhi branch had registered the case.
The official said that CBI sleuths from Delhi conducted searches at Sawlad and Mawblei in the city on Tuesday.
Searches operations were also continuing in Delhi, Mumbai and Sirmaur in Himachal Pradesh.
It may be noted that in 2001, the Government of India had introduced the HSRPs scheme for all vehicles in India. The states were permitted to call tenders for approving rates for supply of HSRPs and to execute the implementation of the work under the scheme.
Meghalaya Government called for tenders in 2003 and Shimnit Utsch India Pvt Ltd, which was allotted the contract, started its operations in the state in August 2006, making the state the first in the country to implement HSRP in the country.
