The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki and others for allegedly awarding contracts without following procedures during his tenure as the Minister of Public Works Department (PWD) and Urban Development in the State. The beneficiaries included his relatives, the agency said.
Among those named as accused are Nabam Aka, sister-in-law of Mr. Nabam, her company, Jumsi Enterprise; Sraboni Bhattacharjee and her company, S. B. Enterprise.
The First Information Report is based on the findings during a preliminary enquiry conducted on the directions of the Guahati High Court, into the allegation that in 2005-06, several work orders were arbitrarily awarded by the PWD officials to the agencies owned or controlled by the relatives of Mr. Nabam, at his behest.
The latest case pertains to the award of work for the construction of a boundary wall and an exit gate of Kendriya Vidyalaya No.1 at Salt Lake in Kolkata.
As it turned out, the then Assistant Commissioner of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Regional Office had moved a proposal for the construction of a permanent building inside the Salt Lake premises for the regional office. The official recommended that the construction work be entrusted to the Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam as it had reportedly been constructing another Kendriya Vidyalaya building in Kolkata.
However, the then Commissioner of the Regional Office entrusted the work to the Arunachal Pradesh PWD despite the fact that it did not have the wherewithal, as alleged.
Another proposal for the construction of a boundary wall of the school was approved and the work given by the Arunachal Pradesh PWD to Jumsi Enterprise. No competitive bids were invited. Subsequently, the work of constructing a second exit gate was given to S.B. Enterprise in the same manner.
During the preliminary enquiry, a junior engineer of the Arunachal Pradesh PWD, who supervised the works, alleged that he once met Mr. Nabam, the then Minister, at Kolkata airport in the presence of the then Deputy Resident Commissioner Bijoy Talukdar and other officials.
Mr. Nabam allegedly introduced his sister-in-law to the PWD officials and asked them to help her get construction works.
