Former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, a stringent voice in civil society's clamour for a strong Lokpal Bill, has said she will return the money her NGO overcharged from various hosts on account of her travel expenses.
'The Indian Express' exposed last week how Kiran Bedi had slapped inflated travel bills on NGOs and institutions that invited her for seminars and meetings.
Bedi said the trustees of her NGO India Vision Foundation have asked the travel agent to return money to organisations which were overcharged. “Trustees (of the Foundation) have instructed the travel agent to return the balance amounts forthwith. They have already passed resolution directing me to travel strictly as per invite. This leaves no room for discretion,” she said.
She said travel agent Anil Bal, who is also a trustee of the Foundation, was handling the travel account and has been asked to return the money. Bal's agency was handling the travel assignments of Bedi.
The trustees, including adman Prahlad Kakkar, Laveleen Thadani, Achal Paul, Pradeep Halwasiya, Amarjit Singh and Sunil Nanda, were of the view that she need not save money for the NGO in this way, she told PTI.
“I never handled this money. The agency issued the receipts and received the money. So the trustees have asked the agency to return the money which is lying in the travel
account,” she said.
Records of bills, invoices and copies of cheques with 'The Indian Express' show that Bedi, who is entitled to a rebate on Air India tickets as a gallantry award winner, pays discount fares but charges her host institutions the full fare. She has also, at times, claimed Business class fare while flying Economy.
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