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Bihar flood scam : Reward announced for former DM’s arrest |
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The Bihar Vigilance Bureau has announced a reward of Rs. 1 lakh for information leading to the arrest of former Patna District Magistrate, Gautam Goswami. Meanwhile, Goswami has applied for anticipatory bail in a court in Patna. The other prime accused in the multi crore scam, Santosh Jha, has surrendered.
More damning information continues to come in regarding the magnitude of the scam which also threatens to engulf former Chief Secretary K.A.H. Subramaniam. The Comptroller and Auditor General’s draft report on the Bihar Government finances indicts the then Chief Secretary, the Disaster Management Department and Gautam Goswami. It lists a series of “deficiencies and defects in the procedure and implementation”, and concludes “the possibility of major fraud could not be ruled out.”
The draft report has been sent to the Bihar Governor for comments. The final version is likely to be submitted to Parliament - since the state is under President’s Rule - in the monsoon session. The main findings of the CAG audit are :
* Allotment of Rs. 13.54 crore to DM Patna was irregular.
* DM Patna did not enter into any pre-contract for supply of relief materials.
* The entire bidding process was flawed.
The Income Tax Department says that at least a part of the crores of rupees meant for providing relief to Bihar’s flood victims ended up paying for property of several of the accused including a flat for the then Patna DM Gautam Goswami. “Nearly Rs. 20 lakh was paid to the builder by Goswami from a bank account. We are trying to ascertain the payments that must have been made in cash since the flat is worth more than Rs. 20 lakh,” the official said.
The payments for this flat in Goswami’s name, in the Twin Towers complex, next to Gandhi maidan, synchronised with the transfer of money from Goswami to co-accused contractor Santosh Jha’s account from the Patna DM’s account
And more than Rs. 10 lakh was paid for buying a flat in the name of Nidhi Jha, companion of Santosh Jha, a close associate of Sadhu Yadav, then Chief Minister Rabri Devi’s brother.
Income Tax officials investigating the assets of the accused have so far identified “flood scam-tainted properties” worth nearly Rs. 5 crore in Patna alone.
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