Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Despite two raids conducted by Lokayukta police, no major breakthrough has yet emerged in the alleged fake billing scam involving Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC). However, nearly 10 firms that received high-value contracts from the corporation are under scrutiny.
The investigation, which centres on irregularities in the corporation’s central workshop and financial operations, is underway.
Amid the controversy, the state government on March 19 had removed additional commissioner (finance) Gunwant Sewatkar from BMC and sent him to his parent department. As per official orders, he has now been posted to the office of joint director under the Commissioner of Treasury and Accounts in Bhopal.
Raids yield limited immediate evidence
Following a court-sanctioned search warrant, Lokayukta officials conducted a raid on March 13 at BMC server centre, seizing hard disks containing SAP data. However, sources indicated that no significant leads were immediately found. A second raid on March 15 at the corporation’s workshop reportedly uncovered suspicious records, which are now being examined.
Multi-crore contracts under lens
Several firms that received contracts worth crores from BMC are under scrutiny. These include the highest payment of Rs 19.84 crore and a total amount of around Rs 71 crore in a year. The contracts awarded to these entities are worth several crores, raising questions about the legitimacy of the work executed and payments cleared. Additionally, payments to a travel company and a civil contractor have also come under the scanner.
Official say
Denying the allegations, Sewatkar said he had only cleared bills approved by departmental officials, adding that any discrepancies should be verified by the concerned departments and field officers.
Commissioner Sanskriti Jain said the corporation was not directly involved in the investigation handled by Lokayukta police. Superintendent of Police (Lokayukta) Durgesh Rathore confirmed that the suspected fraud might have occurred from 2020 to 2026 and that a detailed examination of records across these years was underway.
