Brothers accused of ₹12 crore fraud in online booking contract at tiger reserve in Maharashtra
The Hindu
Two brothers in Chandrapur, Maharashtra, accused of irregularities worth over ₹12 crore in online booking of the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, have been charged with cheating and criminal breach of trust. The firm they operated, Chandrapur Wild Connectivity Solution, was given the task of online booking, but failed to pay the required amount. A detailed audit revealed the firm was supposed to pay ₹22,80,67,749, but only paid ₹10,65,16,918. An offence under IPC sections 420 & 406 registered; investigation underway.
A case has been filed against two brothers operating a firm that was given a contract for online booking of the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district, after it came to light that they allegedly indulged in irregularities worth more than ₹12 crore, police said.
The accused duo, Abhishek Vinodkumar Thakur and Rohit Vinodkumar Thakur, are residents of Chandrapur city, and a case of cheating was registered against them at Ramnagar police station on Friday, they said.
The complaint was lodged by Divisional Forest Officer Sachin Shinde against the duo, whose partnership firm — Chandrapur Wild Connectivity Solution — was given the task of online booking, a statement issued by the district Superintendent of Police (SP) office said.
"The accused brothers have been operating online bookings at the TATR since the past few years. However, recently it came to light that the accused allegedly did not pay ₹12,15,50,831 to the tiger reserve's management," it said.
A senior forest department official said, "It was found that they did not pay the required amount to the TATR. Their irregularity came to light during a routine audit. When the authorities sought clarification from them, they failed to furnish details of payments. Also, they did not cooperate with the officials." After that, the TATR management last week terminated their firm's services and appointed a new agency for online booking, he said.
According to the police, a detailed audit was conducted for the years 2020-21 to 2023-24, in which it was found that the firm was supposed to pay ₹22,80,67,749 to the tiger reserve management. However, it paid only ₹10,65,16,918, but did not make the payment of ₹12,15,50,831.
The accused violated the terms and conditions of the agreement and embezzled the amount, they said.
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