Three retired defence officers booked for ‘fraud’- misuse of pensioners money alleged

GURGAON: THE CASE WAS REGISTERED AGAINST A RETIRED MAJOR GENERAL, A GROUP CAPTAIN AND A WING COMMANDER 

The Gurgaon police has registered a case of fraud against three retired defence officers, including a retired major general, for allegedly siphoning off ` 14 lakh from the Indian Ex- servicemen Movement (IESM) — a society of defence personnel and their families and is involved in the ‘one rank one pension’ agitation.

The accused and the complainants are members of the IESM, the police said.

The complainant Lt Gen Raj kadyan, a resident of Sector 17A and chairman of the society, alleged that the accused had taken a lot of cash from the society funds between January and July 2013.

The case was re gistered against three retired defence personnel — a major general , a group captain and a wing commander — at the Palam Vihar police station on Monday. The police said the case was registered on the directions of a Gurgaon court .

Lt Gen Raj Kadyan ( retd), chairman of the IESM, and the major general, who is the vice-chairman of the society, formed the IESM in 2008 and various other ex- servicemen groups also aligned with the organisation.

The society account is being maintained at a private bank in Sector 23A. Apart from the complainant, the accused were the other signatories for operating the account, the police said.

According to the police, the funds in the account were contributed by officers and their widows.

Inspector Sandeep Kumar, SHO of Palam Vihar, said, “We have registered a case and are conducting an investigation. No arrest has been made so far.”

Despite repeated attempts, complainant Kadyan was not available for comment.

The major general, one of the accused in the case, refuted all allegations. “These allegations are baseless and the account has been audited by an independent authorised accountant. We have worked as per law. I was not aware that a case has been registered against me. Earlier, a lower court had rejected the case filed by the complainant,” he said.

The Gurgaon education department on Tuesday said that the private school, whose principal has been accused of molesting a minor girl, did not seek permission from the department before opening the building.

The officials also said there are no records of the school with the education department.

On February 6, the Gurgaon police arrested the 72-year-old principal of Aarsha Public School in Ashok Vihar for allegedly molesting an eight-year-old student.

The accused was identified as Ram Gopal Sharma, a former junior warrant officer of the Indian Air Force.

According to the police, the incident came to light when the girl returned home after school on February 5 and narrated the incident to her father.

The girl said Sharma called her to his office when she was on her way to her classroom after lunch break. When she entered his office, he allegedly touched her inappropriately and used obscene words, the girl told the police.

Once the incident came to light, the education department initiated an inquiry. After the initial investigation, the department found that the school, which has been functional for more than three years, did not receive any permission or seek authorisation before opening.

“We have checked all the records with the department and no document of Aarsha Public School was found. According to us, the school does not exist. The department will take appropriate and stringent action against the school authorities and check why the school did not seek permissions before opening the building,” said Prem Lata, district elementary education officer.

Hindustan Times (Gurgaon)

10.02.2016