Dehradun. An alleged fraud involving fake attendance records of outsourced workers in the Military Engineer Services (MES) has come to light, with the government exchequer reportedly suffering a loss of ₹18,43,334. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against six people, including two MES officials, and launched an investigation. The allegations state that fewer workers than the number prescribed under the contracts were deployed, while attendance was allegedly recorded and certified for workers who reportedly never entered the premises.
The case relates to GeM Agreement Nos. 3, 11 and 12 for the financial year 2025-26. Under these contracts, outsourced workers were to be deployed in restricted areas of the Instruments Research and Development Establishment (IRDE) campus of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Dehradun. The contracts specified the required number of workers and conditions governing their deployment.
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The alleged irregularity came to light when the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) examined security gate registers recording the entry and exit of workers at the premises. The investigation allegedly found discrepancies between attendance records and actual entry records. According to the allegations, the contractors deployed fewer workers than the number specified in the contracts. In some cases, workers whose attendance was recorded had allegedly never entered the premises.
Despite this, MES Assistant Garrison Engineer Saket Kumar and Junior Engineer Virendra Singh Rawat allegedly certified the attendance of such workers in the attendance registers. The CBI has alleged that the contractors’ monthly bills were approved on the basis of these certified attendance records. Payments were subsequently made and wages were withdrawn in the names of the workers, allegedly causing a loss of ₹18.43 lakh to the government.
Apart from the two MES officials, the CBI FIR names people associated with the private companies involved in the contracts. They include Harshad Maheriya of HR Enterprises, Pooja of Kanishka Global Services and Praveen Kumar of Air Stack India. Bal Krishna Chhetri has also been named as an accused in the case.
According to the investigating agency, Bal Krishna Chhetri was allegedly working for Kanishka Global Services. He is accused of preparing and submitting details of fake attendance in exchange for a commission of ₹3,000 per month and allegedly assisting in the process of getting the bills cleared. The CBI is now examining the roles of all those allegedly involved in preparing the attendance records and obtaining payments on their basis.
The security gate registers, attendance registers, GeM agreements, monthly bills and payment-related documents are among the records being examined as part of the investigation. The CBI is also looking into how attendance was allegedly certified despite the deployment of fewer workers than required under the contracts and why the alleged discrepancies were not detected during the scrutiny of the bills.
Since the contracts involved deployment of workers in restricted areas of the DRDO premises, the security aspect is also being examined. The agency is verifying the identities of the workers who were supposed to be deployed under the contracts, along with their actual attendance and entry records. Investigators are also tracing the accounts into which payments allegedly made on the basis of the disputed attendance records were transferred.
Following registration of the FIR, the CBI has begun collecting documents and records related to the contracts and payments. The roles of the officials, contractors and other accused are being examined. The agency is also investigating whether the alleged fraud was confined to the three GeM agreements or whether similar irregularities may have occurred in other contracts. The investigation is ongoing.
About the author — Suvedita Nath is a science student with a growing interest in cybercrime and digital safety. She writes on online activity, cyber threats, and technology-driven risks. Her work focuses on clarity, accuracy, and public awareness.
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