Govt, bank officials, Srijan chief among 13 charged by CBI
SRIJAN FOUNDER MANORAMA DEVI, 65, DIED OF ILLNESS IN FEBRUARY THIS YEAR, WHILE THE OTHER FOUR ACCUSED NAMED BY CBI ARE LODGED IN PRISON
PATNA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing the Rs1,400-crore fund transfer scam in Bihar, filed two more charge sheets in a special court of CBI against six persons including two bank officials, a district level officer and two employees of Srijan in separate cases on Thursday.
The investigating agency had onwednesdayfiledchargesheets against seven people, including Manorama Devi, founder-director of Srijan Mahila Vikas Samiti (SMVS) which allegedly siphoned off the money.
The charge sheet was submitted in the court of special CBI judicial magistrate-cumadditional chief judicial magistrate Gayatri Kumari in Patna on Wednesday under various sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The scam involving Srijan Mahila Vikas Samiti, a cooperative society based at Sabour in Bhagalpur, came to light when a district urban development authority cheque for ~10.32 crore, made under the Mukhyamantri Shaheri Vikas Yojana and issued by district magistrate, bounced.
The CBI took over the investigation of the scam on August 25 on the recommendation of chief minister Nitish Kumar.
The chargesheeted include then district welfare officer Arun Kumar, his wife Indu, Bank of Baroda branch manager Md Sarfarajuddin, Indian Bank assistant branch manager Md Taukir Quasim, Srijan manager Sarita Jha, and staff Binod Kumar.
CBI investigation has revealed that Binod, driver of Ajay Kumar Pandey (accountant at Indian Bank who was chargesheeted on Wednesday) managed to get cleared three cheques from Quasim worth ~5.5 crore, with forged signatures of Bhagalpur DM.
As per the charge sheet, ~11.5 crore was withdrawn from funds maintained under accounts of Mukhyamantri Sahri Vikas Yojana and district welfare office.
Those chargesheeted Wednesday were Bhagalpur’s land acquisition officers Rakesh Kumar Jha and Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Bank of Baroda senior manager Barun Kumar Singh, branch manager Arun Kumar Singh and department accountant Rakesh Kumar.