JN Road crash barriers scam: Third arrest made by Vigilance Police

GANGTOK,: Sikkim Vigilance Police has arrested an assistant engineer of the Roads & Bridges department during its ongoing investigation into the alleged diversion and misappropriation of funds sanctioned by the Government of India for a BADP project in 2020.

It is the third arrest in the corruption case related to a Border Area Development Programme (BADP) project to install crash barriers along JN Marg (Gangtok-Nathu La road).

Earlier on March 13, the Sikkim Vigilance Police had arrested an assistant engineer of the Roads & Bridges department and a supplier for alleged offences of criminal offences to siphon off government funds and gross irregularities while executing works related to installation of crash barriers along the JN Road.

The arrested accused persons were held in police custody and subjected to intense interrogation to bring on record the modus operandi and trace the money trail of misappropriated funds, said the Vigilance Police in a media statement.

Investigations carried out revealed that in the year 2020, the Roads & Bridges department was assigned the job of installing crash barriers along a particular stretch of JN Road for the safety of vehicles, defence personnel and the general public travelling along the axis.

Undermining the larger public interest, the accused dishonestly and fraudulently swindled off the allocated funds, said the Sikkim Vigilance Police.

The JN Road connects Gangtok with Tsomgo Lake and Nathu La, and is frequented by thousands of tourist vehicles during peak tourism season besides daily movement of Army vehicles, government officials, and local residents.

“The probe carried out by the agency revealed that a local government supplier and certain officials of the Roads & Bridges department conspired with the contractor to misutilise the BADP funds and thereby wrongly gain by way of diversion of funds to their personal accounts. The accused created false and forged documents in support of their claim of successful completion of works, whereas no actual works of installation of crash barriers was carried out on ground,” said the Vigilance Police.

Investigation is continuing and more arrests are likely in the coming days, said the Vigilance Police, recording its commitment to uphold integrity, transparency, and probity in public administration.