LTC scam: CBI books six present, former MPs

Lakhs of rupees are said to have been fraudulently claimed from the government through fake leave and travel concession

Central Bureau of Investigation has registered cases against six current and former Rajya Sabha members in the Leave Travel Concession scam today. The agency is conducting raids across ten locations including at the residential premises of the accused and also some travel agents. The searches are on in Delhi and Odisha.

The members who have been named by CBI include Lalhmianga Liana of Mizo National Front, D Bandopadhyay of Trinamool Congress, Brajesh Pathak of Bahujan Samaj Party. Among former members CBI has named JPN Singh of Bharatiya Janata Party, Mahmood A Madani of Rashtriya Lok Dal and Renu Bala Pradhan of Biju Janata Dal. CBI has got incriminating evidence against the accused. Searches are still on.

The agency had registered a preliminary enquiry into the matter in August last year.

The incident came to light when Kolkata police nabbed a person with 600 boarding passes of Air India. It was later found that the boarding passes had to be delivered to other parties to show fake travel documents. Thereafter, the vigilance department of Air India(AI was then alerted about the incident.

CBI has alleged that senior and mid-level officers in government organisations colluded with private tour operators to take personal trips with families to far-off destinations and then claim the amount spent as official visits.