HC orders CBI probe into scam involving Bihar CM

Welfare fund of Rs 11,214 cr allegedly misused

Taking serious cognisance of the case, in which a complaint has already been lodged in the vigilance court of Patna, a division bench of the HC comprising Chief Justice Rekha M Doshit posted the matter for further hearing on July 26 and asked the CBI director to be present in the court on that day.

It may be mentioned here that one Mohan Kumar had filed a case in the Special Vigilance Court of Patna in which he had charged the accused persons with involvement in the execution of welfare schemes undertaken by various government departments.

He had based his complaint on the findings of a report submitted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), which said that Rs 11,412 crore were withdrawn from the state exchequer allegedly in violation of the prescribed rules.

The amount comprised pending detailed contingent (DC) bills over the 2002-08
period.

Meanwhile, Nitish, Modi and others have been charged under Sections 190, 467, 468, 471, 120 (B) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 13 (1)(c) and 13 (1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

The petitioner’s counsel said the irregularities were related to alleged fraudulent withdrawal from state treasury and corruption in various schemes under MNREGA and in the departments of Water Resources, Minor Irrigation, Health, Road Construction,
Human Resource Development and Finance.

The CBI probe ordered today by the High Court is a grim reminder of the Rs 950-cr fodder scam in which the Patna High Court had asked the CBI in 1996 to investigate the case involving the then chief minister Lalu Prasad and others.