The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi Government has arrested an executive engineer and a private contractor in an over Rs  4.6 crore scam involving the Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) Department. The duo is accused of orchestrating a fraudulent payment of crores for civil works that were never executed. The arrested individuals have been identified as Gagan Kureel, then executive engineer of the CD-VII Division (under suspension since December 2023) and Arun Gupta, proprietor of M/s Baba Construction Company. The scam pertains to drainage and road construction projects in Siraspur village, North Delhi, which were found to exist only on paper. An internal inquiry by a committee of engineers, formed on the directions of the Principal Secretary of I&FC, discovered that in multiple cases, full payments had been made without any physical work being carried out. Based on the findings, a formal probe was launched, leading to the registration of FIR No 03/2025 under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code, including charges of cheating, forgery, criminal breach of trust and conspiracy. Investigations revealed that M/s Baba Construction Company was awarded three tenders worth approximately Rs 5.3 crore for constructing reinforced cement concrete (RCC) drains and roads. Despite no work being carried out on the ground, Rs  4.2 crore was disbursed. In another case, M/s Amba Construction Company received Rs  43.74 lakh against a Rs  38.98 lakh contract for repair and painting work at the CTP Network in Burari, where again, no actual work was found. The ACB probe exposed multiple irregularities. Fake performance bank guarantees totaling Rs  2.24 crore were submitted by the contractors and astonishingly, these forged guarantees — coloured copies not issued by any bank — were accepted by the department without any verification. Fabricated material test reports and tampered Computerised Measurement Books (CMBs) were also found to have been used to support the fraudulent claims. Moreover, the original CMBs were missing and the then executive engineer was evasive when questioned about their whereabouts. The investigation further revealed that mandatory checks and completion certifications, as required under Government norms, were not conducted. This indicated a clear attempt to bypass established protocols and raised strong suspicion of collusion between public officials and private parties. The violations were not limited to internal department rules; the case also involved breaches of the Central Public Works Department Works Manual, the General Financial Rules (2005) and guidelines laid down by the Central Vigilance Commission. Both accused were taken into custody and are currently being interrogated. The ACB has indicated that the investigation is ongoing and more arrests could follow.

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