CBI registers case against Army personnel in Kanpur ‘cell towers on wheels’ corruption case

It further said that the bids were required to be invited through a competitive bidding process for the lease of defence land.

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against three Army personnel and an unknown person in an alleged ‘Cell Towers on Wheels’ corruption case that had come to the fore in Kanpur city of Uttar Pradesh.

As per the First Information Report, filed by the CBI, the case has been registered against Brigadier Naveen Singh, Lt Col RP Ram, Col Dushyant Singh, M/s Indus Towers Ltd and an unknown person for alleged corruption in setting up of “Cell Towers on Wheels’ in the Cantonment area of Kanpur.

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As per the agency, reliable information, ACB Lucknow received that Brigadier Naveen Singh while being ex-officio chairman of the Cantonment Board, Kanpur felicitated the establishment of seven Cell Towers on Wheels (CoWs) in A-1 Category land in the cantonment area of Kanpur in gross violation of guidelines of Ministry of Defence.

This circular provided for the issuance of the lease on defence land for a mobile static tower and or licence for the use of defence land for placing CoWs through Expression of Interest (Eol) to be invited by the Cantonment Board in at Cantonment Area and Station HQ Area in a Military Station, the national agency said.

It further said that the bids were required to be invited through a competitive bidding process for the lease of defence land. The highest bid was to be accepted by the station commander and received through an open tender.

“The lease rent was to be fixed on the basis of the highest bid through a competitive bidding process. It was envisaged in the aforesaid circular for taking advance rent for a year as advance from the successful bidder,” the CBI said.

It further said that it is also reliably learnt that Brigadier Naveen Singh did not constitute any board for deciding locations of CoWs in order to facilitate Cellular Operator to establish CoWs location suitable to them and revenue generated against the said CoWs was not deposited in the Govt.

“Exchequer and suspected to be siphoned off,” CBI added.

In order to verily the aforesaid allegations, a Joint Surprise Check was conducted by CBI, ACB, Lucknow on August 30 in 2o19 in the Kanpur Cantonment Board area along with officials of Central Command, Lucknow, it said.

During the joint surprise check, it emerged that the representative of Indus Towers Limited of Lucknow disclosed that his company did not pay any amount on the count of rent for the establishment of 7 CoWs and a few days back, they had deposited the land rent also.