On Saturday (December 31), The Times of India (TOI) published an article wherein it claimed that 3 army officials were arrested on Friday (December 30) by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the charges of bribery.
The contentious piece, bearing no byline, alleged that the arrested officials included an accounts officer, Ram Roop Meena(a junior translator), and Shankar Khushwana (an integrated financial advisor) of the South Western Command of the Indian Army.
The report further claimed that the arrests were made in Jaipur and cash totalling ₹40 lakhs was recovered in the raids at multiple locations by the central agency. Besides, it said that properties and incriminating documents were also seized by the CBI.
The Times of India reported that four other individuals, namely, Sunil Kumar (Haryana), Prabjinder Singh (Rajasthan), Dinesh Jindal (Punjab), and Rajendra Singh (Jaipur) were also arrested in connection to the case.
The English daily claimed that all 7 accused were produced before a court in Panchkula. Quoting a CBI spokesperson RC Joshi, TOI said, “It was alleged that the accused belonging to three private firms were obtaining all work related to outsourcing of conservancy services for various locations in South Western Command.”
“To get undue favour in the award of the said work in violation of the provisions and payment for their bills without objections, these firms were giving bribes to the officials,” the official further added.
TOI quoted RC Joshi as saying, “It was further alleged that the said IFA, in connivance with the AO, the junior translator and a private person of a Jaipur-based company, who was acting as a middleman for the public servants, was demanding and obtaining illegal gratification from the private contractors.”
ADGPI refuses claims by The Times of India
The Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI) Department of the Indian army has rubbished the claims made by the English daily.
In a tweet, ADGPI clarified, “Misleading Article. It is clarified that “NO Army official has been arrested” as mentioned in this article in the Times of India, Jaipur Edition of 31 December 2022.”
It further added, “TOI is requested to ensure due editorial diligence to prevent such grave errors in the future.” This is however not the first time when the English daily was found peddling fake news.
Recently, The Times of India courted controversy for confusing ‘reel life’ Charles Sobhraj with the real one. The Dehradun edition of the paper published a photograph of Randeep Hooda for a news report about the release of ‘bikini killer’ Charles Sobhraj.
The photograph used by TOI was a still from a Bollywood movie named ‘Main Aur Charles’ in which Hooda played the role of Charles Sobhraj.