Senior accountants also involved: Sain
JAIPUR: Annapurna Sain, an assistant administrative officer in Ajmer Discom and the alleged mastermind behind the siphoning of ₹2.28 crore by forging salary sheets of discom employees confessed during interrogation that she was not alone guilty in the salary fraud.
A police officer who didn’t wanted to be named said Sain told them during interrogation that the fraud had been happening before she joined the department.
“Sain told us that she had joined the department in January, 2012 as commercial assistant. In March, 2017 she was given charge of cashier. The bogus accounts in which the salaries were siphoned have connection with the senior officials of the discom employees,” the police officer said.
“She said along with her, many other officials of the discom were also involved in the fraud. In order to cross-tally her statements, five officials of the discom were also called to Christianganj police station to record their statements,” added the officer.
After Sain’s allegations, statements of senior accounts officer BL Sharma, Jitendra Makwana, Sheetal Jain, Ashok Tiwari, account officer Pawan Kumar and Ajmer disom union employee leader Ramavtar Agarwal were recorded.
Superintendent of Ajmer police Kunawar Rashtradeep said Sain has revealed names of some employees of discom in the entire fraud. They are also under the police scanner.
“We have already found the details of the 60-65 people in whose accounts the salaries were transferred. Those who have been alleged by Sain were also called at the police station and their statements have been recorded. If any evidence is found against the alleged officers, police will not spare them and action will be taken against them too,” said Rashtradeep.
Sain along with her accomplice Amit Verma were arrested in Delhi on Friday. She was continuously changing her locations. In last four months, she had stayed with Verma in Gurugram, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Jaipur. Sain had siphoned ₹2.28 crore by forging salary sheets of discom employees, had transferred the money in accounts of 65 people. Her ally Verma used to withdraw money from the accounts in which Sain had transferred the money and then return it to Sain. Both were presented before court on Saturday from where they were sent in police remand till March 20. Total
Kekri Masuda Kishangarh Pushkar Dudu Nasirabad Ajmer-north Ajmer-south INC:
INC IND INC INC INC INC BJP BJP BJP: IND: AJMER: The Lok Sabha elections in the Ajmer division, comprising Ajmer, Bhilwara and Nagaur constituencies, could witness an interesting political battle with the traditional rivals, the BJP and the Congress, facing some competition from the newly formed Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLTP), led by Jat leader a n d MLA f r o m Khi n v s a r (Nagaur) Hanuman Beniwal.
The RLTP was floated months before the assembly elections in December 2018. It contested 57 assembly seats and won three. In Nagaur district, the party contested from five seats, won two (Khinvsar and Merta) and came second and third on two seats. The growing support of the party BJP:
BJP BJP BJP BJP BJP BJP BJP BJP INC:
INC INC IND BJP IND BJP BJP BJP BJP: IND:
has the two major parties worried about a shift in their vote base, especially the Congress which traditionally has its strong hold in the district.
Country’s first prime minister Jawahar Lal Nehru had laid the foundation of panchayati raj from Nagaur in 1959. Mayo and Sophia colleges and Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) are situated in Ajmer. Bhilwara is known for textile industries.
The three LS seats comprise 24 assembly constituencies, of which the Congress won 10 in the last polls, BJP (11), Independents (2) and RLTP (1). In around a dozen assembly seats, mostly in Ajmer and Bhilwara, the BJP has won thrice or twice in the last three state elections.
“We will be fielding candi- Total Bhilwara Shahpura Mandal Mandalgarh Hindoli Sahara Jahazpur Asind INC: BJP INC INC INC BJP INC BJP BJP BJP:
dates in all 25 LS seats. Alliance is only possible with third front parties, and not with Congress and BJP,” said Beniwal.
In the last four parliamentary elections (1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014), the BJP won Ajmer and Bhilwara LS seats thrice; the Congress and BJP won Nagaur twice each.
The BJP, which got a big mandate in 2013 assembly polls, also swept all 25 LS seats in Rajasthan. In early 2018, the party lost two seats – Ajmer and Alwar -- in bypolls, bringing its tally to 23. Congress candidate Raghu Sharma defeated BJP’S Ram Swaroop Lambha, son of late MP S a n war L a l J a t , who h a d defeated state Congress chief Sachin Pilot.
BJP’S Ajmer district president (rural) Professor BP Saras- INC: BJP BJP BJP BJP INC BJP INC BJP BJP: INC: BJP BJP INC BJP INC INC BJP BJP BJP:
wat said his party lost Ajmer LS bypoll but, barring two assembly seats, won others in the district in the last state polls. “Here, the voter is educated and critically looks at candidates. Ajmer and Bhilwara are BJP’S stronghold and because of PM Narendra Modi, the party is having an edge; Congress is in contest only if they field good candidates. The atmosphere is in favour of the BJP,” Saraswat said.
Political analyst Narayan Bareth said the Congress failed in Ajmer in assembly polls due to candidate selection, social engineering and infighting. “But now that their agenda is to make Rahul Gandhi the PM, Congressmen will not take any risk; infighting will be avoided as there will be accountability.”
Bareth said Bhilwara LS seat Total Nagaur Deedwana Khinvsar Makrana Parbatsar Jayal Nawan Ladnu INC: BJP INC BJP INC BJP INC INC IND BSP: IND:
would witness a contest as minority and Dalit voters would support the Congress but urban and middle c l asses would remain with the BJP. “Bhilwara is communally sensitive and the Congress failed to address issues of minority, general category and OBC people; the results came accordingly. BJP’S urban support base was active and they even managed the caste equation.”
Bareth said Nagaur is important for the Congress as the district traditionally supports the party, though it failed to address issues of farming community and develop a new leadership, creating some disconnect. “Discontentment of Rajputs, Jats and Dalits with the previous government made them to vote for the Congress.” BJP: BJP BJP IND BJP BJP BJP BJP BJP IND: INC: BJP INC RLTP BJP INC INC INC INC BJP: RLTP:
Congress spokesperson Satyendra Singh Raghav said the propeople schemes like unemployment allowance and loan waiver, started in the last two months, will give the Congress an edge in Lok Sabha elections.
“People are aware and have seen how the BJP has failed on all fronts, be it inflation, corruption, demonetisation or GST,” Raghav said. “In 2014, people elected BJP from all 25 LS seats; 5 MPS became union ministers but none performed to benefit people of the state.”
He said traditionally people vote for the party which is in government as they expect development. “The regional parties, such as RLTP, will not have much impact in LS polls, as the election is not for Rajasthan but the country,” Raghav said.