Police have filed a chargesheet against three retired officials of Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam in connection with a wider investigation into alleged financial irregularities worth around ₹130 crore across government construction projects in Uttarakhand.
The Special Investigation Team has completed investigation in five of the six cases registered at Nehru Colony police station and submitted chargesheets against former project managers Shiv Asare Sharma and Pradeep Kumar Sharma, and former Assistant Accounts Officer Level-2 Virendra Kumar Ravi. One case remains under investigation.
The cases originated from an internal inquiry by Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam into alleged misuse and non-adjustment of funds released for government projects before 2018-19.
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ITI funds allegedly diverted after land was unavailable
One part of the investigation concerns money released for Industrial Training Institute buildings in Uttarakhand.
According to the original complaint, the state’s Skill Development and Employment Department had released ₹15.17 crore for construction of 15 government ITIs.
Nine buildings were completed, while construction could not begin at six locations because land was not available. These included Basukedar, Chirbatia, Badave, Thal, Gangolihat and Kathpudiyachina.
Police were told that roughly ₹6 crore allocated for those six projects was instead used for works of other departments and had not been properly adjusted or returned.
That amount, rather than the full ₹130 crore, is the figure directly associated with the ITI component of the investigation.
₹130 crore figure covers several separate project allegations
The broader ₹130 crore case involved more than the ITI buildings.
When police registered six cases in February 2025, the complaint also cited alleged irregularities involving ₹4.28 crore meant for disaster-relief centres where land was unavailable, about ₹1.59 crore relating to Uttarakhand Tourism Department works, ₹9.93 crore connected to the OPD block of Doon Medical College and ₹5.62 crore relating to street-light structure repairs and ABC conductor work.
Another case involved alleged irregularities of ₹109.71 crore, according to the police account reported at the time.
The figures relate to separate project heads and allegations, which is why describing the entire ₹130 crore as an ITI construction scam would overstate the ITI component.
Internal inquiry led to six FIRs in 2025
The criminal cases followed a departmental inquiry by UPRNN.
Additional Project Manager Sunil Kumar Malik filed the complaints at Nehru Colony police station after the corporation’s internal review flagged alleged financial irregularities and failures to account for project funds.
Five retired officials were originally named across the six FIRs: Shiv Asare Sharma, Pradeep Kumar Sharma, Virendra Kumar Ravi, accountant Ram Prakash Gupta and resident engineer Satish Kumar Upadhyay.
Pradeep Kumar Sharma was named in five cases, while Shiv Asare Sharma and Ravi were named in three each. Gupta was named in two cases and Upadhyay in one.
The fresh chargesheet reported on September 29, however, names the three former officials Sharma, Sharma and Ravi.
SIT examined how sanctioned funds were moved
The investigation focused on how money released for specific projects was allegedly moved to other works and why those transfers were not properly accounted for.
In the ITI cases, the central issue was that construction could not proceed because land was unavailable, yet the money released under those project heads was allegedly transferred elsewhere rather than returned or formally adjusted.
Investigators examined departmental records, project files and the movement of funds through internal transfer mechanisms.
The SIT was tasked with collecting documentary evidence across the six cases after Dehradun police handed the investigation over in February 2025.
Chargesheet filed in five cases, one probe continues
The SIT has now completed investigation in five matters and sent the chargesheets to court.
The remaining case is still being investigated, according to the latest report.
Police have reportedly invoked provisions relating to criminal breach of trust and conspiracy against the three former officials.
The filing of a chargesheet means investigators believe they have sufficient material to place the accusations before a court.
It does not amount to a finding of guilt.
The accused will have the opportunity to contest the allegations during judicial proceedings.
Case raises questions over project-fund controls
The alleged irregularities highlight a broader public-finance problem: what happens when money released for a government construction project cannot be used for its original purpose.
If land is unavailable or a project cannot proceed, funds ordinarily need to be formally reallocated, adjusted or returned through authorised procedures.
Using them for unrelated works without proper approval or accounting can make it difficult to establish where public money ultimately went.
That is why the UPRNN inquiry and subsequent police probe focused not only on whether money was spent, but on whether the transfers were authorised and properly recorded.
What this means for you: The ₹130 crore figure covers several alleged project irregularities, not only the ITI buildings. The fresh development is the filing of chargesheets against three former UPRNN officials in five cases, while one investigation remains pending.
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