E-tender ‘scam’ probe: EOW in a spot over accused’s proof-copy demand

E-tender ‘scam’ probe: EOW in a spot over accused’s proof-copy demand

P.Naveen@timesgroup.com

Bhopal:12.09.2021

The accused in the alleged Rs 3000-cr e-tender scam in MP have put EOW in a fix by asking for a copy of the electronic evidence.

The agency says it is voluminous 9TB data which cannot be shared with the accused without segregation, and that itself is a Herculean task. On other hand the Bhopal court is trying to conclude the trial at the earliest to meet Supreme Court’s deadline.

The SC had ordered last month that the trial be completed and the verdict pronounced within 12 months. The apex court dismissed a special leave petition for bail filed by one of the accused, who had been in jail for the last two years. Order was issued last month.

A breach in the e-tender process led to the alleged Rs 3,000 crore scam, forcing the government to revoke nine of its major tenders. In 2018, EOW approached CERT-In to pay a visit to MP State Electronics Development Corporation (MPSEDC) to get a mirror image of the data related to the case. CERT-In is yet to share its inputs on the retrieved data. EOW has been sending reminders to the central agency for this so that it can wrap up the investigation Officers also say that it is not feasible to share the entire data with the accused as it may have an adverse impact on pending cases. The trial court has asked EOW to hand over the digital evidence in compliance with the SC ruling to conclude its trial at the earliest.

The SC order goes thus: “We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned judgment passed by the high court. Consequently, the special leave petition is dismissed. However, the trial court is directed to conclude the trial and pronounce the judgment within a year from the date of receipt of the copy of this order.”

E-tendering ‘biggest scam’ EOW has probed

On April 11, 2019, a day after registering an FIR into the Rs 3000-crore e-tendering scam, EOW had rounded up three software professionals and raided a company jointly operated by them for allegedly hacking the government portal and ‘modifying contents’.

IP addresses of the systems used to breach the e-tendering software of Madhya Pradesh state electronic development corporation (MPSEDC) were allegedly traced to the desktop and mobile phones of the company and its directors. Unauthorized accesses were made into the portal using encryption keys via internet connections used by this company, say officials.

In his statement to EOW, the company’s proprietor has denied his role in any of the tenders floated by MPSEDC. According to him, his company, which has a licensed load runner, was contracted to conduct performance testing of the e-tender portal, and the work was cancelled within two days of its award.

E-tendering is said to be the biggest ever ‘scam’ that the agency ever investigated. The probe began in mid-June 2019 on the orders of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The then chief secretary BP Singh asked EOW to begin an investigation based on an interim report submitted by a former director of MPSED after the cancellation of nine tenders. The FIR mentions directors of seven private companies, and unnamed bureaucrats and politicians. TNN

The agency says it is voluminous 9TB data and its segregation itself is a Herculean task