Bihar: Three Former IAS Officers, One Serving Booked In Rs 7 Cr Mahadalit Vikas Mission Scam

The Vigilance Investigation Bureau (VIB) of Bihar has booked one serving and three retired IAS Officers, along with six other officials for their alleged involvement in over Rs 7.3 crore Bihar Mahadalit Vikas Mission (BMVM) scam.

The FIR was lodged by VIB Inspector Sanjiv Kumar at the Vigilance police station of Patna, against the 10 accused of allegedly cheating and fraudulently withdrawing the amount between 2012-2016. The accused reportedly listed fake entries of students under the mission that aims to provide course to students from Scheduled Caste communities in 22 districts.

The course was started by the state government included spoken English and was run in association with an agency called British Lingua, headed by one of the accused Dr Birbal Jha.

The scheme received massive recognition when it was initiated in 2010 but later ran into controversy over its implementation and the number of beneficiaries it held.

BMVM listed 14,826 students who were provided training, but the investigation revealed that most of the students attended separate trades during the similar session and period, under the same timings, with same names and addresses.

"Signatures of these trainees on two different registers were evidence against them (accused)," The Indian Express quoted the FIR.

Along with British Lingua director Dr. Birbal Jha, the other accused included BMVM director and serving IAS officer S M Raju, former Mission directors Raghvendra Jha, Rajnarayan Lal and Ramashish Paswan (retired IAS officers); former Mission coordinators Anil Kumar Sinha, Shashi Bhushan Singh, former Mission coordinator Harendra Kumar Srivastava, former Mission assistant director Birendra Choudhary, and then state programme officer Devjani Kar.

Speaking to the media, Jha dismissed all the allegations and said that the FIR was a complete violation of the business contract with an arbitration clause between the training company and BMVM. The whole case is nothing but a malicious effort to tarnish his image and of the agency, he added.

However, Inspector Sanjiv Kumar said that there was proof of Jha's involvement with BMVM officials. "The investigation found that in 22 districts, and other districts where the Mahadalit Mission expanded the programme, Birbal Jha, in collusion with Mahadalit Mission officials and others, conspired to prepare forged and false documents regarding work order and expansion of English spoken training".

The investigation revealed that between 2012-16 yearly fiscals, the agency withdrew more than Rs 7.3 crore through multiple cheques. "As the investigation progresses, the amount is likely to rise," the FIR mentioned.

All the officials have been booked under sections - 406 (criminal breach of trust), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine as a forged document), 477a (falsification of accounts) and 120b (criminal conspiracy), and provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act.

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