In Haryana, ex-BSF officer tries to flee from police custody during court visit

Praveen Yadav, a former deputy commandant of the border guarding force, was arrested in January for allegedly duping owners of four Gurugram-based construction firms of over ₹150 crore.

Gurugram: Police on Saturday registered another case against a former deputy commandant of the Border Security Force (BSF) who allegedly tried to run away from police custody in court on Friday. He was arrested in January this year for allegedly duping owners of four city-based construction firms of over ₹150 crore.

Suspect tries to flee from police custody during court visit

Praveen Yadav was charged with defrauding people on the pretext of getting them awarded civil contracts in the National Security Guard (NSG), Manesar, and claiming to provide construction contracts for various works inside the campus. The NSG is part of the Indian special forces under the ministry of home affairs.

A complaint in connection with the incident was filed by head constable Jai Bhagwan, member, escort guard, who was on duty to produce Yadav in the court on Friday. After producing him in the court of JMIC Azad Singh, the constable returned with the suspect. “When we were near the lawyers’ chamber in D block, Yadav suddenly ran towards gate number 2. When I raised an alarm, other policemen ran behind him and sub-inspector Kashmir Singh caught hold of him. Yadav tried to run away but fell down and was finally nabbed”, said Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime).

Following the complaint, a case was registered against Yadav under applicable sections of the Indian Penal Code at Shivaji Nagar police station. Sangwan said that the suspect was sent to judicial custody.

Praveen allegedly provided several owners of construction firms with letters of intent and copies of fake tender contracts. According to police, he also made them deposit money in a private bank account opened in the name of “Office of GC (Garrison), Station HQ, NSG, Manesar” to prove that it was a legal transaction for tender allocation. Police have identified Praveen’s wife Mamta Yadav, sister Ritu Raj Yadav and his friend Dinesh Kumar as other suspects in the fraud case.

Sangwan said that Praveen was in charge of fencing, solar plants and other construction-related work while he was posted at the NSG. “He was introduced to Dinesh Kumar and later started offering people fake tenders for construction work at NSG with him,” he said. Praveen opened a fake private company and made his wife Mamta and sister Ritu Raj Yadav the directors. Police said Ritu works with a private bank in Sector 83 in Manesar and lives on the NSG campus with her husband who is an assistant deputy commandant.