'Serious fraud probe' into ex-servicemen job scam
New Delhi (IANS): The Defence Ministry on Sunday handed over the probe into a job racket for ex-servicemen to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in the Corporate Affairs Ministry.
Several senior officers of the Directorate General Resettlement (DGR) have been found guilty in an internal inquiry.
The case involves a private company, Ex-Servicemen Airlink Transport Service Pvt Ltd (EATS), and the fraud took place under a scheme for ex-servicemen. Under the scheme, security agencies run by retired defence personnel were given contracts to provide service to central public sector undertakings.
The Defence Ministry found substance in allegations of subletting of security agencies for obtaining multiple benefits by a few officers of the ex-servicemen welfare department.
"The Defence Ministry has decided to request the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to hand over to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) the case relating to private company EATS for further investigation," a Defence Ministry spokesperson said.
"Action is also being initiated against the officers mentioned in the inquiry report who flouted the extant norms and guidelines of various schemes, and thus were involved in administrative improprieties," the spokesman said in a statement.
The move comes as the Defence Ministry initiated a series of measures after an inquiry found substance in allegations regarding subletting of security agencies and obtaining multiple benefits by a few ex-servicemen officers.
This was part of a drive to ensure transparency in the functioning of DGR office. DGR is an attached office of department of ex-servicemen welfare, which is responsible for training and rehabilitation of retiring defence personnel and ex-servicemen.
'Serious fraud probe' into ex-servicemen job scam
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Adarsh Housing: Military Land Title gets obscured
PAC questions top defence officials in Adarsh housing scam
Published: Monday, Oct 10, 2011, 22:23 IST | Updated: Monday, Oct 10, 2011, 22:25 IST
Place: New Delhi | Agency: PTI
Top defence officials today faced tough questions from Parliament's Public Accounts Committee when they appeared before it in connection with the CAG report on the Adarsh Housing society scam.
The PAC demanded answers from them on how the society was formed with defence officials as part of it and why no objection was raised by the ministry concerned or the army top brass when the proposal was moved.
The defence officials were also asked as to why no alarm bells rang during construction of the 31-storey building, which was now being dubbed as a security threat.
Congress members including Sanjay Nirupam also questioned them on the ownership of the land on which the skyscraper had been built.
Nirupam asked the defence officials to present the ownership documents of the land on which the building had been constructed.
Defence Secretary SK Sharma, Vice-Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen AS Lamba, Vice-Chief of Naval Staff Vice Adm RK Dhowan and several other senior officials appeared before the PAC.
The PAC asked the defence ministry to submit all affidavits it has filed before competent courts in connection with the Adarsh Society case.
They have also been given a week's time to produce the documents as also the title deeds of the controversial piece of land.
A top army officer told the PAC that if CBI is able to establish criminality in the case, action will be taken against the guilty under Army Act and related provisions.
PAC questions top defence officials in Adarsh housing scam
Published: Monday, Oct 10, 2011, 22:23 IST | Updated: Monday, Oct 10, 2011, 22:25 IST
Place: New Delhi | Agency: PTI
Top defence officials today faced tough questions from Parliament's Public Accounts Committee when they appeared before it in connection with the CAG report on the Adarsh Housing society scam.
The PAC demanded answers from them on how the society was formed with defence officials as part of it and why no objection was raised by the ministry concerned or the army top brass when the proposal was moved.
The defence officials were also asked as to why no alarm bells rang during construction of the 31-storey building, which was now being dubbed as a security threat.
Congress members including Sanjay Nirupam also questioned them on the ownership of the land on which the skyscraper had been built.
Nirupam asked the defence officials to present the ownership documents of the land on which the building had been constructed.
Defence Secretary SK Sharma, Vice-Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen AS Lamba, Vice-Chief of Naval Staff Vice Adm RK Dhowan and several other senior officials appeared before the PAC.
The PAC asked the defence ministry to submit all affidavits it has filed before competent courts in connection with the Adarsh Society case.
They have also been given a week's time to produce the documents as also the title deeds of the controversial piece of land.
A top army officer told the PAC that if CBI is able to establish criminality in the case, action will be taken against the guilty under Army Act and related provisions.
PAC questions top defence officials in Adarsh housing scam
Widow of Indian Army soldier demands return of George Cross medal
Brahmi Devi, widow of Kripa Ram, a martyr from the Indian Army in Himachal Pradesh, has demanded that the George Cross medal that was posthumously conferred on her husband be returned to her after news surfaced that the medal is put on auction in Britain. The George Cross (GC) is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations
October 14, 2011 - Shimla
Brahmi Devi, widow of Kripa Ram, a martyr from the Indian Army in Himachal Pradesh, has demanded that the George Cross medal that was posthumously conferred on her husband be returned to her after news surfaced that the medal is put on auction in Britain.
Brahmi Devi, widow of the George Cross awardee Kripa Ram who is in her late seventies, said that a man posing as an Indian Army officer duped her ten years ago by taking away her husband's medal. Brahmi was widowed when she was 13-year-old. The old lady said that she merely wanted the medal to be returned to her.
Brahmi Devi complained to the Police that her medal should be returned to her. She says: "Nobody came to enquire about what happened. Nobody came to tell me whether the medal had been recovered or not. My demand is that my husband's medal should be returned to me, nothing else."
Brahmi Devi said the medal, awarded to Kripa Ram by the then Governor General Lord Wavell, reminded her of her husband who was killed when she was only 13 years old. She has been living in squalid conditions since then in Bhapral village of Himachal Pradesh.
Her relatives also enquired about the stolen medal and urged the police officials to bring back the medal and give it to its rightful owner.
According to Prithvi Raj, Inspector General (IG), Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Himachal Pradesh Police, the medal was considered stolen until it was found that Brahmi Devi had been duped by a few scrupulous elements who made her part with it.
"It was reported that this medal had been stolen by some people from her house after a burglary. But later on it was revealed that actually this medal was taken away from Brahmi Devi by one Kirpal Singh by duping her after posing himself as a representative of the Indian Army," said Prithvi Raj.
Prithvi Raj said that the crooks sold the stolen medal to a man living in the UK, who wanted to put it up for auction.
He added that Interpol intervened on behalf of the Himachal Pradesh Police and stopped the auction, but could not recover it as the man who possessed the medal has legal documents to prove that he bought it.
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations.
The George Cross is bestowed upon civilians and military personnel for actions that are not in the directly in the face of the enemy or for which purely military honours would not normally be granted. By Hemant Chauhan
Widow of Indian Army soldier demands return of George Cross medal
October 14, 2011 - Shimla
Brahmi Devi, widow of Kripa Ram, a martyr from the Indian Army in Himachal Pradesh, has demanded that the George Cross medal that was posthumously conferred on her husband be returned to her after news surfaced that the medal is put on auction in Britain.
Brahmi Devi, widow of the George Cross awardee Kripa Ram who is in her late seventies, said that a man posing as an Indian Army officer duped her ten years ago by taking away her husband's medal. Brahmi was widowed when she was 13-year-old. The old lady said that she merely wanted the medal to be returned to her.
Brahmi Devi complained to the Police that her medal should be returned to her. She says: "Nobody came to enquire about what happened. Nobody came to tell me whether the medal had been recovered or not. My demand is that my husband's medal should be returned to me, nothing else."
Brahmi Devi said the medal, awarded to Kripa Ram by the then Governor General Lord Wavell, reminded her of her husband who was killed when she was only 13 years old. She has been living in squalid conditions since then in Bhapral village of Himachal Pradesh.
Her relatives also enquired about the stolen medal and urged the police officials to bring back the medal and give it to its rightful owner.
According to Prithvi Raj, Inspector General (IG), Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Himachal Pradesh Police, the medal was considered stolen until it was found that Brahmi Devi had been duped by a few scrupulous elements who made her part with it.
"It was reported that this medal had been stolen by some people from her house after a burglary. But later on it was revealed that actually this medal was taken away from Brahmi Devi by one Kirpal Singh by duping her after posing himself as a representative of the Indian Army," said Prithvi Raj.
Prithvi Raj said that the crooks sold the stolen medal to a man living in the UK, who wanted to put it up for auction.
He added that Interpol intervened on behalf of the Himachal Pradesh Police and stopped the auction, but could not recover it as the man who possessed the medal has legal documents to prove that he bought it.
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations.
The George Cross is bestowed upon civilians and military personnel for actions that are not in the directly in the face of the enemy or for which purely military honours would not normally be granted. By Hemant Chauhan
Widow of Indian Army soldier demands return of George Cross medal
Recruitment Scam dupes many aspirants
Ex-armyman arrested in recruitment scam
A retired Indian Army personnel and a woman from Assam have been arrested in New Delhi for duping thousand of people across the country on the pretext of providing jobs in the Indian Army, police said Wednesday.
The Crime Branch of Delhi Police received a complaint that Ravinder Chauhan claiming to be a Major of Indian Army has duped 38 job seekers to the tune of Rs.1 crore on the promise of getting them jobs in Assam Rifles.
Chauhan told police that he used to impersonate as a Major in Indian Army duped crores of rupees from job seekers and Archana Singha of Assam was the mastermind of the racket.
A raid was conducted at Jorhat and Singha was also arrested. Singha told police that she was behind the racket.
Chauhan joined Rastriya Rifles in 2003 and in 2007, while he was posted at Baramula in Jammu an Kashmir, he got injured and was declared unfit for further service. He got in touch with Singha and collected money from more than 400 people to the tune of more than Rs.3 crore.
In 2007-2008, recruitment of Assam Rifles was held in Jorhat where she came in contact with a doctor who was Major in Assam Rifles and succeeded in getting three to four people appointed.
She earned Rs.10,000 to Rs.15,000 from candidate in the recruitment.
Similarly, in 2008-2009 she got a few candidates appointed of Assam Rifles held at Cooch in Bihar, however, she collected money from several candidates.
She began to appoint agents in different parts of India. Agents were made in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, MP, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Meghalya, Manipur, Nagaland and Hyderabad.
The agents used to allure students by promising them jobs and used to collect Rs.25,000 to Rs.1 lakh per candidate as advance.
Thereafter, Singha would ask her agents to bring all the candidates to Assam and would ask them to stay in some hotel.
She would manage some fake doctors and officers and would get candidates of Assam Rifles medically examined in the hotel.
She would also get signed a blank answer sheet from them. Thereafter, she would send them back and would ask them to wait for the result and appointment letters.
After some time, she would send a photocopy of provisional appointment letters to her agents and would ask them to deposit rest of the money before giving them original appointment letters.
She used to earn Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh per candidate from the agents. After collecting rest of the money she and her agents would not take their calls.
Till now, they have cheated around more than 1000 job seekers and have collected money to the tune of more than Rs.10 crore.
‘More than 90 Bank accounts of different banks were freezed,’ said Deputy Commissioner of Police Ashok Chand.
Ravinder Chauhan was nabbed from the railway station in his Honda City car following a on tip-off. ‘He was carrying a pistol along-with 15 live cartridges and an arm licence purportedly issued from Jammu and Kashmir,’ said Chand adding that the license was found be to be fake
Ex-armyman arrested in recruitment scam
A retired Indian Army personnel and a woman from Assam have been arrested in New Delhi for duping thousand of people across the country on the pretext of providing jobs in the Indian Army, police said Wednesday.
The Crime Branch of Delhi Police received a complaint that Ravinder Chauhan claiming to be a Major of Indian Army has duped 38 job seekers to the tune of Rs.1 crore on the promise of getting them jobs in Assam Rifles.
Chauhan told police that he used to impersonate as a Major in Indian Army duped crores of rupees from job seekers and Archana Singha of Assam was the mastermind of the racket.
A raid was conducted at Jorhat and Singha was also arrested. Singha told police that she was behind the racket.
Chauhan joined Rastriya Rifles in 2003 and in 2007, while he was posted at Baramula in Jammu an Kashmir, he got injured and was declared unfit for further service. He got in touch with Singha and collected money from more than 400 people to the tune of more than Rs.3 crore.
In 2007-2008, recruitment of Assam Rifles was held in Jorhat where she came in contact with a doctor who was Major in Assam Rifles and succeeded in getting three to four people appointed.
She earned Rs.10,000 to Rs.15,000 from candidate in the recruitment.
Similarly, in 2008-2009 she got a few candidates appointed of Assam Rifles held at Cooch in Bihar, however, she collected money from several candidates.
She began to appoint agents in different parts of India. Agents were made in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, MP, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Meghalya, Manipur, Nagaland and Hyderabad.
The agents used to allure students by promising them jobs and used to collect Rs.25,000 to Rs.1 lakh per candidate as advance.
Thereafter, Singha would ask her agents to bring all the candidates to Assam and would ask them to stay in some hotel.
She would manage some fake doctors and officers and would get candidates of Assam Rifles medically examined in the hotel.
She would also get signed a blank answer sheet from them. Thereafter, she would send them back and would ask them to wait for the result and appointment letters.
After some time, she would send a photocopy of provisional appointment letters to her agents and would ask them to deposit rest of the money before giving them original appointment letters.
She used to earn Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh per candidate from the agents. After collecting rest of the money she and her agents would not take their calls.
Till now, they have cheated around more than 1000 job seekers and have collected money to the tune of more than Rs.10 crore.
‘More than 90 Bank accounts of different banks were freezed,’ said Deputy Commissioner of Police Ashok Chand.
Ravinder Chauhan was nabbed from the railway station in his Honda City car following a on tip-off. ‘He was carrying a pistol along-with 15 live cartridges and an arm licence purportedly issued from Jammu and Kashmir,’ said Chand adding that the license was found be to be fake
Ex-armyman arrested in recruitment scam
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Indian Railways take Fauji Veterans taken for a ride
Mamata's patriotic song becomes swansong for ex-servicemen
By Quaid Najmi | IANS – Sun, Sep 18, 2011
Mumbai, Sep 18 (IANS) Former railway minister Mamata Bannerjee's patriotic song for the country's armed forces and promise of railway jobs for ex-servicemen became quite a hook for many a battle-scarred ex-soldier. But now they would like to make it their swansong.
Lured by the promise of a permanent job, ex-servicemen responded to a railway recruitment drive across its divisions earlier this year, in the chimeric hope of a rewarding new career.
When they finally got their appointment letters in June, however, they were shocked to find that they had been placed as cleaners, waiters, loaders, and in other menial positions.
Many claim that they were short-changed even with regard to pay and other emoluments as compared with what they got in the Army, Navy and Air Force or would have got in the private sector.
One such applicant, Venkateshu Sanjiva, of Karnataka had taken part in the action in Operation Bluestar in Punjab in 1984, and also during the Kargil war.
After retirement from the Indian Army as a technical-level store-keeper, he joined Reliance in Navi Mumbai, managing its labour camp on a monthly salary of around Rs.20,000.
'I responded with great hope to the Central Railway (CR) advertisement this year and quit my private job to re-join government service. I was aghast to be appointed as a cleaner in the canteen at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) in Mumbai,' Sanjiva told IANS.
A former Army Medical Corps store-keeper, Santosh Salvi of Thane, had a similar experience: he was placed as a cleaner-cum-loader in pantry cars of long distance trains originating in CST.
'I have served in places like Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala under extremely trying circumstances. Now, I am reduced to a pantry car cleaner-cum-loader after 24 years' military service,' Salvi rued.
A resident of Ahmednagar, Sunil Funde, who retired as a store-keeper (technical) in remote border areas after 25 years, is now a cleaner in the central railway canteen at CST and, at times, doubles as a waiter.
Former army subedar D.V. Bhoite said he 'feels totally let-down' after getting an appointment letter as a cleaner in the CST canteen.
click here to read more
By Quaid Najmi | IANS – Sun, Sep 18, 2011
Mumbai, Sep 18 (IANS) Former railway minister Mamata Bannerjee's patriotic song for the country's armed forces and promise of railway jobs for ex-servicemen became quite a hook for many a battle-scarred ex-soldier. But now they would like to make it their swansong.
Lured by the promise of a permanent job, ex-servicemen responded to a railway recruitment drive across its divisions earlier this year, in the chimeric hope of a rewarding new career.
When they finally got their appointment letters in June, however, they were shocked to find that they had been placed as cleaners, waiters, loaders, and in other menial positions.
Many claim that they were short-changed even with regard to pay and other emoluments as compared with what they got in the Army, Navy and Air Force or would have got in the private sector.
One such applicant, Venkateshu Sanjiva, of Karnataka had taken part in the action in Operation Bluestar in Punjab in 1984, and also during the Kargil war.
After retirement from the Indian Army as a technical-level store-keeper, he joined Reliance in Navi Mumbai, managing its labour camp on a monthly salary of around Rs.20,000.
'I responded with great hope to the Central Railway (CR) advertisement this year and quit my private job to re-join government service. I was aghast to be appointed as a cleaner in the canteen at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) in Mumbai,' Sanjiva told IANS.
A former Army Medical Corps store-keeper, Santosh Salvi of Thane, had a similar experience: he was placed as a cleaner-cum-loader in pantry cars of long distance trains originating in CST.
'I have served in places like Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala under extremely trying circumstances. Now, I am reduced to a pantry car cleaner-cum-loader after 24 years' military service,' Salvi rued.
A resident of Ahmednagar, Sunil Funde, who retired as a store-keeper (technical) in remote border areas after 25 years, is now a cleaner in the central railway canteen at CST and, at times, doubles as a waiter.
Former army subedar D.V. Bhoite said he 'feels totally let-down' after getting an appointment letter as a cleaner in the CST canteen.
click here to read more
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
OROP: Planning Commission Accedes and Government Decides
Dear Colleagues,
The Governing Body met today afternoon. Apart from other agenda, they discussed the modalities of the 12 Nov rally, submission of memorandum to the Congress President and the AGM on the 13th November.
As the ESM environment is aware, Mr Bhagat Singh Koshyari is the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Petitions Committee that is considering OROP; their report is to be tabled in the Parliament during its forthcoming Winter Session. His remarks, published in the Hindustan Times, New Delhi Uttarakhand edition, dated 9 October 2011, are reproduced below:
"Koshyari also revealed that the ex-servicemen's long pending demand for one-rank-one-pension has also been "acceded to by the planning Commission, which would benefit lakhs of ex-soldiers in Uttarakhand".
Assuming the journalist has correctly reproduced his remarks, this should be good news for all of us.
Best regards,
Lt Gen (Emeritus) Raj Kadyan, PVSM, AVSM, VSM
Chairman IESM
262, Sector-17A
The Governing Body met today afternoon. Apart from other agenda, they discussed the modalities of the 12 Nov rally, submission of memorandum to the Congress President and the AGM on the 13th November.
As the ESM environment is aware, Mr Bhagat Singh Koshyari is the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Petitions Committee that is considering OROP; their report is to be tabled in the Parliament during its forthcoming Winter Session. His remarks, published in the Hindustan Times, New Delhi Uttarakhand edition, dated 9 October 2011, are reproduced below:
"Koshyari also revealed that the ex-servicemen's long pending demand for one-rank-one-pension has also been "acceded to by the planning Commission, which would benefit lakhs of ex-soldiers in Uttarakhand".
Assuming the journalist has correctly reproduced his remarks, this should be good news for all of us.
Best regards,
Lt Gen (Emeritus) Raj Kadyan, PVSM, AVSM, VSM
Chairman IESM
262, Sector-17A
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