Latest news with #CDRs
Express Tribune
5 hours ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Accountability eludes RDA probe
The fact-finding inquiry initiated by the Punjab Chief Secretary into the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) financial scandal has entered its concluding phase, but without accountability in the loop. Written testimonies from six employees of the RDA Finance Directorate, along with two retired officers, have been submitted. A pivotal hearing is scheduled for July 31 in Lahore, after which the final inquiry report — complete with recommendations — will be submitted to the CS. Sources told The Express Tribune that a female member of the inquiry committee recorded statements from the summoned officials on Tuesday regarding the alleged embezzlement involving the transfer of Rs1.94 billion from an official RDA account. Simultaneously, a separate departmental probe committee — formed to investigate transfers via Certificates of Deposit (CDRs) from another RDA bank account — has failed to meet its seven-day reporting deadline. Notably, despite the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) having questioned all summoned individuals in connection with the scandal, no investigation has yet been conducted involving any Directors General or Directors of Administration and Finance who held office during the five-year span in which the alleged misappropriations occurred. To date, only two retired officers — former Director of Admin and Finance Asif Mehmood Janjua, and former Assistant Director Khawaja Arshad Javed — have been officially questioned. It's essential to note that within the RDA, only two positionsthe Director General and the Director of Administration and Finance — are vested with the authority to approve financial transactions. Over two months have passed since the scandal surfaced in mid-May, revealing that Rs1.94b in public funds had been transferred via CDRs to various companies, firms, and individuals. Despite the gravity of the matter, no responsible parties have been identified, nor has any portion of the misappropriated amount been recovered. Parallel investigations are ongoing by NAB, the chief secretary's fact-finding committee, and the departmental probe team formed by the RDA Director General. However, none have produced definitive findings. The departmental committee, specifically tasked with determining whether RDA's financial securities were transferred between internal accounts, has yet to deliver its overdue report. Last month, the RDA administration begun implementing key reforms to restore financial discipline. As an initial step, the implementation of an irregular promotion was halted, and a revised framework for financial authority was introduced. Under the new structure, the director finance and deputy director finance had been jointly authorised to approve financial transactions up to Rs0.5 million. According to sources, the reforms came in response to investigations by the NAB, the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment, and the fact-finding committee set up by the chief secretary. The scandal involved the unauthorised transfer of Rs1.94 billion in public funds to various companies and individuals through Call Deposit Receipts (CDRs).
Time of India
4 days ago
- Time of India
IAS officer's ‘harassment': Digital proof to be saved
New Delhi: Delhi High Court has ordered Delhi Police to preserve digital evidence, including call logs of a senior IPS officer accused of misbehaviour and harassment by a woman IAS officer. In a recent order, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma allowed the plea filed by the IAS officer and noted that in the "interest of justice and to ensure that relevant material, if ultimately found admissible and necessary, remains available for scrutiny by the courts, this court is inclined to direct the respondent/state to ensure preservation of the digital evidence, i.e. IPDRs, CDRs, tower location data, mobile and landline usage logs, and Wi-Fi logs" of the officer as well as the cops who investigated her case and filed a closure report before the trial court. The court said the digital evidence would be preserved for the period from July 2023 to Sept 2023. It clarified that "the present order is being passed solely for the limited purpose of securing preservation of digital evidence and shall not be construed as an expression of opinion on the merits of the case". You Can Also Check: Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi The judge also clarified that "the direction to preserve data does not create any rights or equities in favour of either party. The relevance, authenticity, and admissibility of such data will be considered at an appropriate stage". Last year, a magistrate's court had accepted the cancellation report filed by Delhi Police over the allegations of misbehaviour levelled by the IAS officer against the police officer. The trial court noted that the woman officer never disclosed to the investigating officer or the magistrate court that she made a call to the accused on Oct 17, 2023, just a day before the registration of the FIR. In response, she took the plea that her husband called the accused from her mobile number to harshly reprimand him. After the trial court's order, the IAS officer appealed in the high court.
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
‘If you don't pull up cops for falsifying evidence, what stops them from doing so again?'
Advocate Yug Chaudhry who led the defence of the 7/11 blasts accused acquitted last week, speaks to Jyoti Punwani about the significance of the Bombay High Court's judgment and how the victims can seek justice. 'If you don't pull up cops for falsifying evidence, what stops them from doing so again?' The fact that they were held innocent has not been stayed. Nor has their release. That's because the judgment is very sound. The stay has been granted only because of the effect this judgment would have on other MCOCA trials currently on. Because the court agreed with our argument that for MCOCA to be applied, an accused must have been charge sheeted in two cases where the punishment is a minimum of three years, not a maximum of three years. That finding could derail other MCOCA trials. Not just the accused, for me personally as well. This judgment is that light I will look to when I am sunk in despair. It has restored not just my faith in the judiciary but in humanity and courage, in kindness and above all in human decency. Appellate judges seldom reverse convictions in terror cases. You have to scale a very high mountain to get a terror conviction reversed. It is only because the judges were legally and morally convinced of the innocence of the accused that they did so. What convinced them was the utter blatant fabrication of evidence against the accused and the very obvious fact that the investigation and prosecution of the case lacked integrity, credibility and honesty. The evidence produced was an insult to the intelligence. That's what I can't understand. No ideologically driven party can have a vested interest in the miscarriage of justice. I would request these parties: please see the evidence for yourself. Ask yourself, how can copy paste confessions by different accused given to different DCPs be genuine? Why were the CDRs destroyed? These CDRs were relied upon to get police remand of the accused; the police claimed the CDRs showed they were in touch with each other and with the LeT. Yet, not only were they not used by the prosecution, when we got an order that they should be handed to us, the prosecution said they've been destroyed! The senior officer investigating the case kept saying he won't answer to all questions we asked (when pressed about the CDRs), the IO kept saying, 'I can't remember, I don't know.' Is this how an honest investigation is run? They must urge the government to set up an SIT with high-ranking members: judges, bureaucrats and members of civil society to look into the entire case again, especially the evidence submitted by Rakesh Maria, which pointed towards the IM having done it. 189 persons have died; this needs an honest investigation. The NIA today has the monopoly of investigating terror. On its website, the train blasts have been attributed to the IM. Not only the NIA, the police in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi have all said that the train blasts were executed by the IM. By insisting on the rule of law, and by ensuring accountability of the police for their misdeeds. If you don't pull up the police for falsifying evidence, what stops them from doing so again? If there is a judicial finding about evidence having been fabricated, those doing so must be pulled up.
Hindustan Times
7 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Inspired by crime shows, BSF constable robs a Delhi jewellery store using a toy gun
A BSF constable, who joined the force a month ago, was arrested for robbing a Delhi jewellery store with a toy gun in broad daylight, after allegedly getting inspired by crime shows following losses in online gambling, an official said on Wednesday. He stole four gold bracelets before fleeing on foot.(Getty Images/iStockphoto) The accused, identified as Gaurav Yadav (22), had completed his training in May 2025 after he enrolled in the Border Security Force (BSF) in 2023, the official added. 'Yadav was posted in the BSF in Fazilka, Punjab. On June 18, a day before the robbery, he took leave and travelled to Delhi, where he planned the heist while waiting to switch trains,' Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Prashant Gautam said in a statement. The incident occurred on June 19 at a jewellery store in Farsh Bazar, when a man entered the store brandishing what appeared to be a pistol and stole four gold bracelets before fleeing on foot. A case under Section 309(4) (robbery) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered at the Farsh Bazar Police Station, and an investigation was launched, the DCP added. Police carried out technical surveillance, analysed multiple CCTV footage, call detail records (CDRs), and Internet Protocol Detail Record (IPDR) dump data, and raised several queries on the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID). "After sustained efforts and detailed analysis, the accused was identified as a BSF constable posted in Fazilka, Punjab. A raid was conducted at his native village in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, where he was apprehended. During interrogation, he confessed to the crime," DCP Gautam said. According to the police, Yadav allegedly developed a gambling addiction, incurred significant losses, and plotted the robbery after watching crime shows. "He bought a toy pistol from a local shop and used it to commit the robbery. He later travelled to Meerut, then Lucknow, and finally reached his home in Shivpuri, where he sold two of the stolen bracelets and deposited ₹2 lakh into a bank account," the DCP added. The police recovered two gold bracelets from his home and identified the account where the ₹2 lakh had been deposited. Gaurav had no prior criminal record, the police noted, adding that further investigation is underway.
NDTV
23-07-2025
- NDTV
Inspired By Crime Shows, Border Force Jawan Robs Delhi Jewellery Shop Using Toy Gun
New Delhi: A BSF constable, who joined the force a month ago, was arrested for robbing a Delhi jewellery store with a toy gun in broad daylight, after allegedly getting inspired by crime shows following losses in online gambling, an official said on Wednesday. The accused, identified as Gaurav Yadav (22), had completed his training in May 2025 after he enrolled in the Border Security Force (BSF) in 2023, the official added. "Yadav was posted in the BSF in Fazilka, Punjab. On June 18, a day before the robbery, he took leave and travelled to Delhi, where he planned the heist while waiting to switch trains," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Prashant Gautam said in a statement. The incident occurred on June 19 at a jewellery store in Farsh Bazar, when a man entered the store brandishing what appeared to be a pistol and stole four gold bracelets before fleeing on foot. A case under Section 309(4) (robbery) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered at the Farsh Bazar Police Station, and an investigation was launched, the DCP added. Police carried out technical surveillance, analysed multiple CCTV footage, call detail records (CDRs), and Internet Protocol Detail Record (IPDR) dump data, and raised several queries on the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID). "After sustained efforts and detailed analysis, the accused was identified as a BSF constable posted in Fazilka, Punjab. A raid was conducted at his native village in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, where he was apprehended. During interrogation, he confessed to the crime," DCP Gautam said. According to the police, Yadav allegedly developed a gambling addiction, incurred significant losses, and plotted the robbery after watching crime shows. "He bought a toy pistol from a local shop and used it to commit the robbery. He later travelled to Meerut, then Lucknow, and finally reached his home in Shivpuri, where he sold two of the stolen bracelets and deposited Rs 2 lakh into a bank account," the DCP added. The police recovered two gold bracelets from his home and identified the account where the Rs 2 lakh had been deposited. Gaurav had no prior criminal record, the police noted, adding that further investigation is underway.
