Srijan scam: CBI gets nod to prosecute absconding ADM

More than four months after the Rs 1,000 crore Srijan scam surfaced in Bihar, the Nitish Kumar government has now given its approval for the prosecution of Additional District Magistrate (ADM) of Bhagalpur, Rajeev Ranjan Singh.

The CBI, which is probing the scam had sought the Bihar government's permission to initiate action against the senior officer who is believed to be involved in the transfer of funds from the Bhagalpur treasury to an account of non-government organisation (NGO) Srijan Sahyog Mahila Samiti.

"The General Administration Department in Bihar has issued a notification giving sanction to the CBI to prosecute the officer on the run," said a source associated with the investigation.

The Srijan scam came to light on August 3, 2017, when it was detected by Bhagalpur District Magistrate Adesh Titarmare that there has been pilferage of government fund to the tune of around Rs 500 crore by a Bhagalpur-based Srijan. An investigation by top cops indicated that around Rs 355.7 crore were fraudulently transferred from three heads - land acquisition (Rs 270 crore), urban development schemes (Rs 70.7 crore) and district administration (Rs 15 crore) - into the account of Srijan.

Srijan was run by a social worker Manorama Devi, who reportedly flaunted her connections with politicians and bureaucrats and helped Srijan spread its tentacles.

Altogether 17 people, including Prem Kumar, the personal assistant (PA) of Bhagalpur District Magistrate, were arrested after nine FIRs were filed.

Later, when it was found that the embezzled fund had crossed Rs 1,000 crore, the chief minister ordered a CBI probe into the scam.

It is believed that Rs 270 crore was transferred to Srijan when Rajeev was the land acquisition officer in Bhagalpur. Rajeev is at large ever since the scam surfaced.