CM Relief Fund scam: Andhra govt to take call on probe agency

 andhrapradesh | Written by : IANS Updated: Tue, Sep 22, 2020, 02:53 PM

Guntur, Sep 22 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh's Guntur rural police has sent the file related to Rs 117-crore CM Relief Fund scam to the DGP office to decide whether the CID or the ACB will take up the case for investigation, a senior police officer said on Tuesday.

"It's a high-profile case and money involved is huge. It needs to be decided which organisation -- Criminal Investigation Department (CID) or the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) -- should probe it. We have sent the file to the DGP office after preliminary investigation," Guntur Rural Superintendent of Police (SP) Vishal Gunni told IANS.

"DGP Gautam Sawang in consultation with the government will take a call on whether to send it to the CID or the ACB," the SP said.

A decision on the agency to investigate the case could come on Tuesday itself, sources said.

Using forged cheques, the frauds had attempted to withdraw crores of rupees from the CM Relief Fund from New Delhi, Kolkata, and Karnataka. They had misused cheques issued to three needy persons for small amounts.

The huge transactions through the forged cheques were averted when bank officials suspected something amiss and avoided processing them after cross-verifying with officials concerned.

Police later registered a case of cheating and forgery at the Thulluru police station.