KOCHI: That the state government has come out all gun blazing in support of the police after CAG’s damning report exposing financial irregularities is hardly surprising. From the replies to the CAG queries it is evident that the state government was aware of the irregularities in awarding of the projects. CAG report also pointed out an unholy nexus between state PSU Keltron and the police in siphoning off public money.
The CAG report is highly critical of state government’s justification given to each violation of procedures committed by the police and Keltron in procuring equipment in the name of police modernisation. Though police and Keltron entered into major deals before Loknath Behera was appointed the state police chief, the alleged suspicious deals continued even after he assumed charge in June 2016. Official sources said the CAG report outlines in detail the violations committed by Keltron in procuring the vehicle-mounted
X-ray baggage inspection system and vehicle-mounted GPS-based communication system in 2017.
Police insiders told TNIE that a few top officials of Keltron and the police have been operating hand in glove to allocate deals to the companies of their choice. “There is a caucus within the police department which select bidders for supply of different items as per the requirement. The officers have been using Keltron as a cover to carry out the deals for kick-backs. This has been going on for several years,” said a source who did not want to be identified.
The CAG report has clearly exposed how Keltron, in collusion with the police, manipulated the procedures for procuring Panasonic Toughpad FZ-B2. “Audit observed from the records of Keltron that in anticipation of the work order from the Kerala Police, Keltron was in correspondence with M/S Panasonic for procurement of Panasonic Toughpad FZ-B2. A letter from Keltron to M/S Panasonic revealed that Keltron even indicated the target price of procurement to be quoted by M/S Panasonic,” the report said.
The report has also cited an email sent by Keltron to Panasonic to expose the irregularities. In the email, Keltron claimed the “testing of the new tablet is in progress. Now it is being taken to Mr Loknath Behera IPS along with the Docking Station. Regarding the price quoted by you, Mr Loknath Behera is expecting an End User Price (EUP) with tax below `1 lakh. Other wise he will not purchase the same. So please rework your price keeping our margin percentage intact.”This, the CAG report said, “clearly indicates vitiation of the tender process and collusion between Keltron, M/S Panasonic and the police department in procurement of the equipment.”