CBI books Lt Col in disproportionate assets case

New Delhi: The CBI has slapped a fresh case of corruption against Lieutenant Colonel Abhishek Chandra, the then SSO (contract and victualling) at Andaman and Nicobar Command, for allegedly amassing disproportionate assets and depositing cash in lakhs in accounts of his family members, officials said on Monday.

Lieutenant Colonel Chandra was booked in 2022 for allegedly demanding and accepting illegal gratification from various vendors in cash as well as bank deposits in the accounts of his family members, they said.

During the probe, the agency scrutinised documents related to his assets which indicated that Chandra and his wife were in possession of assets which they could not satisfactorily account for, the officials said.

”It has also been revealed that huge cash amount of Rs 15 lakh was deposited by Lieutenant Colonel Abhishek Chandra and his wife Priya Chandra in cash from Port Blair through cash deposit vouchers in the account of Sashi Sharma (mother of Priya Chandra), Paritosh Sharma (brother of Priya Chandra) and also in the bank account of himself, his father Suresh Chandra and his minor sons,” the agency has alleged.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said that the deposits were made during the period 2017 and 2019 which Chandras could not satisfactorily account for the source of these cash amounts deposited by them from Port Blair in the above bank accounts.

The agency has alleged that Chandra allegedly acquired assets worth Rs 31.29 lakh which were 33.31 per cent above his known sources of income following which the CBI filed an FIR against him and his wife under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act, they said.