VPVV defence contract scam: Pakistan link surfaces

Kochi: A suspected Pakistan link has surfaced in the ₹700-crore VPVV scam, in which the company allegedly cheated multiple investors by claiming it had secured a contract to supply weapons made in India to the US defence forces.

Central intelligence agencies have received information that the alleged mastermind behind the scam, Thanush Pande, popularly known as 'Doctor Saab', travelled to Pakistan on a forged passport last year. The agencies have also found that funds were transferred from one of VPVV's four bank accounts maintained at two banks in Vasant Vihar, New Delhi, to a bank branch in Gujranwala, Punjab province, Pakistan.

Investigators have further found that after the scam came to light, money was transferred to the Bahrain-based shell company account of P Sumitha Sudhakar, a Kozhikode native known within VPVV as the company's 'Defence Lady'.

Central agencies questioned VPVV Chairman Venkita Venkat following a complaint lodged with the Delhi Police. During the inquiry, company employees reportedly told investigators that whenever Doctor Saab visited the company's Vasant Vihar office, he would leave with bundles of cash.

The investigation has intensified following the emergence of the Pakistan link, with agencies probing the origin of the forged defence contract allegedly used by the company. Investigators suspect the fake contract was modelled on an authentic document. VPVV's contracts, brochures and other promotional material were printed at a press owned by one Aquil Ahmed at Ramesh Park in Delhi. However, investigators believe the press lacked the technical capability to produce forged contract documents embedded with ultraviolet security features similar to those found on currency notes.

Meanwhile, Venkita Venkat, who left Delhi three days ago claiming he was travelling to his hometown in Kollam after multiple cases were registered against the company in Kerala, has not yet reached the state. Investigators believe he is currently hiding in Hyderabad.

Agencies are also tracking another alleged key conspirator in the scam, Yelethi Padmaraj Gopal, a native of Beach Gardens in Maharanipeta, Visakhapatnam. With Doctor Saab still untraceable, investigators suspect that Venkat is currently acting under Padmaraj's direction.