Kerala sub inspector arrested in missing bullets case
In its report, the CAG said 25 INSAS rifles and 12,061 cartridges were missing from the armoury of the Special Armed Police (SAP) battalion in Thiruvananthapuram.
The Kerala crime branch probing the case of missing bullets from the special armed police camp arrested a sub inspector of police on Wednesday. The crime branch said SI Reji Balachandran was arrested for his role in producing fake bullet cases during an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
In its report, the CAG said 25 INSAS rifles and 12,061 cartridges were missing from the armoury of the Special Armed Police (SAP) battalion in Thiruvananthapuram. It also said the police department was aware of the shortage and tried to cover it up by producing fake bullets before the audit.
The report embarrassed the state government which handed over the case to the crime branch.
During the probe, crime branch said missing rifles were located in Mainpur where state policemen were deployed on special duty. But they said there were serious discrepancies regarding missing bullets and bullet registers were not maintained properly. It also found that empty bullet cases were melted to make emblems and trophies.
The opposition Congress said the arrest of the SI was done to shield high-ranking officials.
The CAG report, submitted to the assembly, also found that the state police chief diverted ₹2.81 crore meant for building staff quarters of his sub-ordinates and used it for building villas for himself and additional DGPs. The report also questioned DGP Loknath Behra’s penchant for spending lavishly on vehicles instead of using these funds for improving the operational capability of the force. The bullet-resistant vehicles meant for operation in Naxal-infested areas were deployed for VIP security, the report had said.