After 22 long years of trial, a CBI Special Court here on Wednesday convicted retired Major General A K Gupta, Lt Col S S Kadian and a private firm in a case pertaining to supply of tinned meet kheema to the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) deployed in Sri Lanka at that point in time.
The XIV Additional Special Judge for CBI cases K Paramaraj awarded two years of rigorous imprisonment to Gupta and one year to Kadian who later retired as Major General.
During 1987, when IPKF was deployed in Sri Lanka, the southern headquarters command had established its maintenance area at Chennai for logistic support.
Gupta who was the then Major General, Army Supply Corps, Southern Command, and Kadian who was the then Lieutenant Colonel, Army Supply Corps, Margao, and Coasta and Co, Margao, allegedly colluded to cheat the Government of India on supply of tinned meat kheema. They surpassed the local purchase scheme procedure and falsified records to suggest that tinned meat kheema was supplied, although the actual supply was not made on the dates on which they were recorded as received. The case was registered in 1990 by ACB Chennai, CBI, under sections 120B and 420 of Indian Penal Code (IPC), section with 5(2) read with 5(1) of Prevention of Corruption Act 1947. The Special Judge on Wednesday imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 on each of the accused besides the imprisonment. The company represented by Deepak Pereira was also convicted and slapped a fine of Rs 61,000.