CBI to Probe Srijan Scam
Put on the mat, the Nitish government asks the central agency to investigate the misuse of government funds
It was ingenious, as scams go— simply parking large sums of ‘idle’ government money with an NGO and deploying it to earn interest. When the department concerned needed the funds, the requisite sum was just credited back to the government account so that cheques wouldn’t bounce.
No one suspected a thing until a special investigation team set up earlier this month zeroed in on the Srijan Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti Ltd, a cooperative society in Bhagalpur. Srijan has emerged as the focal point of the massive scam, worth Rs 1,000 crore.
To blunt the opposition RJD’s allegations that the Nitish KumarBJP regime was shielding the ‘big fish’, the Bihar government pushed for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over the probe which has already revealed that corrupt government officials and bank employees were in cahoots with Srijan. Undetected for years, the scam was exposed on August 4 when a state government cheque for Rs 270 crore bounced. The money was meant to compensate farm-owners for land acquired for a new power plant. So far, 12 FIRs have been lodged.
An internal probe by Bhagalpur district magistrate Adarsh Titarmare revealed there was no money in the government account when the cheque to pay farmers was presented. Alarmed, Nitish swiftly ordered an investigation by the state police’s economic offences wing.
Many believe the shady scheme began to unravel after Manorama Devi, Srijan’s founder secretary, who had close links with civil servants, politicians and businessmen, passed away this February. It was, in fact, only after her death that government cheques began to get dishonoured. Her son Amit Kumar, who took over as secretary, and daughter-in-law Priya Kumari evidently couldn’t keep track of the large sums drawn from various state government accounts. Both are now on the run. The police have till now arrested 11 people, including Bhagalpur’s district welfare officer and a personal assistant to the district magistrate.
—Amitabh Srivastava