Couva Corporation employees in court

Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard,SC, yesterday gave instructions to Snr Supt Totaram Dookhie and Insp Ramdhanie Dipchand, Cpls Seelal and Bassarath shortly after 1 am to charge the five.

The corporation employees and a contractor were arrested on Friday following extensive investgations by Fraud Squad officers.

Completion certificates allegedly signed off on two incomplete playground projects in Caparo, are what triggered investigations into the allegations which led to the arrest of four senior officials on Friday by the Fraud Squad.

According to police sources, charges are to be laid as they probe a $150,000-contract that was given to a contractor from 2014/2015 budgeted funds, for the supply and installation of outdoor exercise equipment on concrete slabs at the Todds Road Recreation Ground.

That contract was at $63,250.

The other signed-off contract being investigated, involved the San Pablo Recreation Ground which was valued at $86,250.

Newsday further learned that the Fraud Squad detectives are also probing payments allegedly made for work which was not done, or left incomplete.

It is alleged that questionable contractual arrangements were put in place during a period of time and that there were requests for payments for works that had not been completed.It was also alleged that there was pilfering of material from the corporation.

The Fraud Squad officers also arrested a contractor in a sting operation for allegedly offering a bribe of $2,000 to a councillor as an inducement, for the particular councillor to approve box drain works, though there were questions raised about the poor quality of work.

Yesterday, head of the Fraud Squad Senior Supt Dookhie denied reports that the investigation was initiated because of the input of any politically aligned person.

He also denied that any councillor tipped off the police which led to the arrest of the contractor or the police raid on the corporation.

On Friday, following the arrests of the officials and a contractor for allegedly conspiring to defraud the State in the granting and paying of state contracts, ILP councillor Sunil Ramjitsingh, People’s National Movement councillor Alif Mohammed, and alderman Beeran Rambarran, issued a joint statement expressing pleasure that finally some action has been taken to combat “the scourge of institutionalised corruption” that they say has been bleeding the corporation of critical resources necessary for servicing the needs of the hundreds of thousands of burgesses, and, averting the perennial hardships and suffering they face.