Kohima Police book contractor over alleged forged bank guarantees in medical college project

KOHIMA — Kohima Police have booked a contractor for allegedly submitting forged bank guarantees amounting to several crores in connection with a construction project worth INR 21.19 crore at the Nagaland Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (NIMSR) in Kohima.

As per the First Information Report (FIR) filed by Kohima Police, and documents obtained recently by Eastern Mirror through the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the bank guarantees submitted by the contractor under the name of a firm were confirmed to be “forged”.

According to the FIR, Abhijit Kumar Sahoo, the contractor who executed the project under the firm name M/s Naga Construction, has been identified as the “known” accused in the case.

The FIR, registered on November 22, 2024, invokes sections 468, 471, 472, and 473 of the Indian Penal Code (now Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita), which relate to forgery and intentional cheating.

Police confirmed that further investigation is underway to determine the extent of the alleged forgery and whether any officials were complicit in approving the documents without verification.

Project background

According to RTI records, the Nagaland Health Project (NHP), under the directorate of Health and Family Welfare, issued a tender in 2021 for the construction of a library hall and theatre block at the NIMSR. The tender carried the bid reference number NHP/PP/2021/016.

After a bidding process, the NHP awarded the contract to M/s Naga Construction, which quoted the lowest bid at INR 21.19 crore. The amount was later revised to INR 29.93 crore, reportedly before the commencement of construction.

The project, funded by the World Bank, was implemented under the NHP framework. The formal letter of acceptance was issued on December 17, 2021, followed by a direction to the firm to furnish several bank guarantees—a performance security of INR 1,05,96,525 (5% of the total cost), an additional security for an unbalanced bid worth INR 1,53,53,683, and an Environmental, Social, Health and Safety (ESHS) performance security of INR 21,19,305.

The NHP required the securities to remain valid for a specified period and directed the firm to submit them within 21 days of receiving the acceptance letter. Upon submission, the contract agreement was signed on January 19, 2022, between representatives of the NHP and the contractor, and a notice to proceed was issued on January 25, 2022, with a completion deadline of 18 months.

Uncovering the forgery

RTI documents reveal that the contractor submitted three bank guarantees purportedly issued by Punjab National Bank (PNB), Koley Market Branch, Kolkata, to meet the project requirements. These documents were accepted by NHP officials and the project was executed accordingly.

However, the matter took a turn in March 2024, when an online verification request was sent to PNB Kolkata through the bank’s official portal. The verification was reportedly prompted by a source who suspected irregularities in the documents.

In its response dated March 5, 2024, the bank clarified that it had not issued any of the three guarantees and that “no such BG was found in our records.”

Eastern Mirror independently verified the authenticity of this response with the PNB Circle Head Office in Kolkata in August 2025. During in-person checks, discrepancies were observed in the format of the submitted documents and the accompanying cover letters.

Bank officials also pointed out that the alleged bank guarantee used an invalid code — “IGL” instead of the official code “ILG” — which raised red flags about the documents’ legitimacy.

Complaint and inaction

According to the complaint filed with Kohima Police, the issue was first flagged in February 2024, when a concerned individual (who wished to remain anonymous) submitted a written complaint to the North Police Station, Kohima, alleging that NHP officials had accepted fraudulent bank guarantees without proper verification.

Interestingly, it took nearly nine months from the submission of the complaint to the formal registration of an FIR. The complainant further highlighted that, despite almost a year having passed since the FIR was registered in November and the subsequent ongoing investigation, there has been little to no update on the progress of the case from the police.

The complainant stated that despite evidence pointing to forgery, no prompt action was taken by the authorities. Letters were subsequently sent to the state chief secretary and the superintendent of police, Kohima, requesting immediate suspension of work and an inquiry into the authenticity of the bank guarantees.

A formal request for FIR registration was also made on March 8, 2024, four days after the bank verification confirmation.

With no response or visible follow-up, the complainant escalated the matter to the director general of police (DGP), Nagaland, seeking official intervention. It was only after this step that an FIR was registered, and an investigation formally initiated.

Alleged oversights

The complainant alleged that the NHP accounts section failed to verify the authenticity of the submitted bank guarantees before accepting them. The use of the code “IGL” instead of “ILG” was described as a major deviation from standard banking practices and a key indicator of forgery.

“The incorrect code is not a typographical error but a fundamental discrepancy that raises serious doubts about the legitimacy of the bank guarantee,” the complainant stated.

It further requested the authorities to initiate disciplinary action not only against the contractor but also against any NHP officials found negligent or complicit in the process. The complainant also appealed to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Kohima Branch, for disciplinary follow-up at the branch level, if found negligent.

Work complete, inquiry on

Despite the submission of forged guarantees, RTI replies indicate that the construction work was completed and the facility is functional. However, the discovery of the forged documents has cast a shadow over the project’s procedural integrity and financial oversight.

Police have confirmed that contractor Abhijit Kumar Sahoo has been booked in connection with the case, and the investigation is focused on verifying whether other parties—including officials within the NHP and the directorate of Health and Family Welfare—played any role in the acceptance of the forged documents.

Kohima Police said that investigation is ongoing and statements from bank officials and government departments are being collected.

Eastern Mirror has reviewed a series of RTI responses and related correspondence provided to the RTI applicant by the NHP and other authorities, covering the period from July 2023 to May 2025.