Ashok Kumar Pal, the chief financial officer and executive director of Reliance Power, was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday night. The arrest follows a probe into a fake bank guarantee and forged invoices used in a Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) tender for a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).
Pal was produced at the residence of Special Judge Kiran Gupta by the ED. In a quick hearing, the judge approved a 2‑day ED custody period, giving the agency until October 13 to hold Pal before the court. The judge also set a hearing at Patiala House Court for Monday afternoon and directed that Pal speak with his lawyer for a half‑hour each day, with the ED officials unable to overhear the conversation. ED officials must also supply any required medication and interrogate Pal in a CCTV‑covered room.
The ED had originally requested five days of custody, but the judge limited the period to two days, noting the case had not yet begun trial or taken cognisance. Once the period ends, the ED will file a reply before the next court date on October 13.
The investigation ties Pal to a ₹68‑crore bank guarantee that the SECI tender required. The guarantee, allegedly issued in the name of FirstRand Bank in Manila, had no real branch there. Pal reportedly arranged the bogus document through Biswal Tradelink Pvt. Ltd (BTPL), a small company with no track record of issuing guarantees. BTPL’s director, Partha Sarathi Biswal, is already in judicial custody.
Authorities say Pal used fake transport invoices worth several crores to move company funds. He reportedly cleared payments and handled paperwork through Telegram and WhatsApp, bypassing Reliance Power’s official SAP and vendor master systems. The ED also uncovered a fake‑bank‑guarantee racket that uses spoofed email domains, such as s-bi.co.in, to masquerade as legitimate banks like SBI, Indian Bank, IndusInd, and Punjab National Bank.
The case shows a broader criminal plot involving forged documents and deceptive channels aimed at defrauding a publicly listed company and public institutions. The judiciary’s decision to start routine custody and set a trial date signals a swift move to hold the corre‑sponsible executives accountable.
Source: aninews
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