The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) management is planning to seek a Central Crime Branch (CCB) probe into the case, where former BMTC officials allegedly forged the signatures of senior officers to tamper with documents and award contracts and tenders to undeserving applicants.
The forgery case which happened between March 2020 and September 2023 has caused a financial loss of ₹17 crore to the corporation. “I have already conducted a meeting with senior officials to suggest giving this case to the CCB for an investigation and have directed officials to prepare the details of the case and the documents needed to transfer it. We will decide about giving this case to the CCB in the board meeting soon,” said Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy.
According to BMTC officials, the accused had forged the signatures of former BMTC Managing Director C. Shikha and Director of Security and Vigilance Wing K. Arun. Earlier, the Wilson Garden police arrested around six officials in the case. “There are 15 to 16 cases on this and officials have already started studying all the related cases. An agency like the CCB can conduct a proper investigation into the scam,” Mr. Reddy added.
The Assistant Security and Vigilance Officer of the BMTC conducted a probe and found that the accused were involved in large-scale irregularities and filed a complaint. The probe revealed that the accused had taken bribes from the beneficiaries through UPI and even helped them waive dues by forging the letterhead and signatures of the senior BMTC officials.
According to the FIR, the accused forged the signatures of senior officials by making colour photocopies and using it in various other documents illegally.
