Former BMTC senior official arrested for alleged fraud in awarding contracts

A former Chief Traffic Manager at the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation was arrested for allegedly forging signatures of his senior officials and awarding contracts to undeserving firms in the last three years causing a loss of over Rs 17 crore to the BMTC, police said on Wednesday.

The accused, Sriram Mulkavana, who worked with the commercial section of the BMTC, along with six other colleagues were placed under suspension after their names surfaced during the internal probe conducted by BMTC into the alleged fraud, they said.

An FIR was registered at Wilson Garden Police station against the seven suspended BMTC officials on October 2 after Assistant Security and Vigilance Officer Ramya C K found serious fraud. According to the complainant, the Corporation has suffered a total loss of over Rs 17 crore due to the alleged fraud, police officials said.

The FIR stated that the fraud was committed between March 2020 to September 2023 due to which the Corporation has suffered a loss of Rs 10.5 crore and Rs 6.91 crore in two different cases.

The accused seven BMTC officials allegedly forged signatures of senior officials by making colour photo-copy and using it in making fake documents fraudulently, a senior police official said.

'During the investigation, we have arrested one of the accused, who was working as the Chief Traffic Manager at the BMTC. He and along with his accomplices have misappropriated a huge amount of over Rs 17 crore with respect to waving off rent of buildings given on lease basis and other frauds,' he said.

They forged signatures of senior officials and made fake documents using their signatures to issue contracts to undeserving firms, he added.

The case was registered under sections 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the Indian Penal Code and further investigation is underway, according to police.