Guwahati: Assam Public Works, an NGO, will lodge an FIR with Assam police's CID for an inquiry into reports about procurement of sub-standard bullet-proof vests for the police.

Questions have been raised over the quality of bullet-proof jackets supplied to the police force after the death of officer-in-charge of Bordumsa police station Bhaskar Kalita in an encounter with Ulfa (I) militants in Upper Assam's Tinsukia district on Friday.

APW president Aabhijeet Sharma, who is in Delhi, told The Telegraph over phone on Monday that they will file the FIR with the CID after returning to Guwahati in a few days.

Two bullets had pierced Kalita's vest - one hit him in the chest and the other pieced his upper abdomen.

Kalita's widow Sangita and his colleagues doubt the effectiveness of the bullet-proof vest he was wearing and have sought an inquiry.

Director-general of police Kuladhar Saikia had said they would look into the matter and inquire when the vest was procured and who had supplied it.

The government has entrusted additional chief secretary Sanjay Krishna to conduct an inquiry into Kalita's death and the quality of the vest.

Sharma said they suspect corruption in procurement of the vests. These vests were procured in 2011-12 when the previous Tarun Gogoi government was in power in the state.

"We suspect corruption not only in the purchase of bullet-proof vests but also in other procurements made under the police modernisation scheme," he added.

There were also allegations of corruption in procurement of CCTV cameras, which were installed in 91 locations across the city. A source said the cameras were not of desired quality and suffer from technical glitches. "Many of these cameras do not even have recording facility," the source said.

A major controversy had erupted on the quality of bullet-proof jackets after the death of Mumbai ATS (anti-terrorism squad) chief Hemant Karkare in the 2008 terror attacks.

Recently, 1,430 bulletproof jackets out of 4,600 received by the Maharashtra police in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks were returned to their manufacturer as they failed the AK-47 bullet test during trials.

Citizens of Assam, an NGO, organised a silent, candle-lit prayer meeting for Kalita at Dighalipukhuri here on Monday evening. Congress leaders, including Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi, joined the meeting.