Two curators at the National Museum in New Delhi are facing a CBI probe for alleged irregularities in awarding contracts to a private company. The two,J E Dawson and K K S Deori,and the then director general of the National Museum,U Das,are alleged to have favoured Packwell & Company in awarding contracts worth Rs 74 lakh without inviting any tenders. Dawson,curator of archaeology,is the senior-most curator at the museum,while Deori is in charge as curator (display). Dawson is already facing an internal probe for raising the estimated cost of a project,to be held in Sri Lanka,from Rs 53.8 lakh to Rs 8.58 crore. The CBI registered a preliminary enquiry against the three and other unknown officials after receiving a complaint from the Culture Ministry in August this year. The firm,based in New Delhi,was given the task of transportation and handling of valuable works of art, said a CBI official. According to sources,the officials cleared false invoices submitted by the firm with inflated bills for exhibitions held abroad. The officials claimed the contract was awarded to Packwell based on their prior work with the museum. We will soon decide on whether to file an FIR, said the CBI official. When contacted,the owner of Packwell & Company,R K Gupta,said: The invoices,bills and quotations were submitted as per the rules. Some persons are trying to blacklist our firm.
