Srijan scam: Three women accused held in Bihar's Bhagalpur

BHAGALPUR: A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team arrested three women managing committee members of Srijan Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti (SMVSS) from different localities here in the wee hours of Tuesday in connection with the multi-crore Srijan scam related to siphoning of government funds.
A CBI court had recently issued non-bailable arrest warrants against the trio and other accused while acting on a complaint of the probe agency that they were not complying with the summons.
The three arrested women were identified as Aparna Verma, Rajrani Verma and Jasima Khatoon. The CBI officials interrogated the three women separately before producing them in the court of ADJ-VII at Bhagalpur. The CBI has sought transit remand of the accused so that they could be produced before the CBI court at Patna.
SMVSS, a co-operative society registered under Bihar and Orissa Cooperative Societies Act of 1935, was founded by late Manorama Devi in early 1990. It is under CBI probe after the scam came to light. Manorama’s son Amit Kumar and his wife Rajni Priya along with several others are accused in the multi-crore scam.
CM Nitish Kumar had formed a special investigation team (SIT) of Economic Offences Unit (EOU) and ordered an inquiry into the scam in the first week of August, 2017. Altogether 22 FIRs were registered against the accused persons, including managing committee members of the SMVSS. Several accused were arrested by the SIT before the CBI took over the case for investigation.
Government funds worth crores were fraudulently transferred between 2004 and 2014 in the accounts of SMVSS. The SMVSS had allegedly transferred government funds meant for various welfare schemes from the Bhagalpur district administration’s accounts to its bank account in connivance with some district officials and bankers.
During investigations, it came to light that SMVSS used to fraudulently procure cheque books from banks and forged signatures of the district magistrate to issue cheques in its favour in order to transfer huge funds to its account.
Sources said the CBI had gathered information about the SMVSS and its bank accounts from the time of its inception in early 1990s. Similarly, the income-tax department had also started gathering information about the major beneficiaries of the Srijan scam.
The CBI had filed three charge sheets in the multi-crore Srijan scam against over 60 people. The charge sheets named Manorama’s son Amit and daughter-in-law Rajni apart from some bank and district administration officials.
A case against all 10 managing committee members of the SMVSS was registered at Sabour police station by the block cooperative extension officer.
According to sources, the CBI and Enforcement Directorate have already arrested former BJP leader Bipin Sharma, Rubi Sharma (wife of Bipin Sharma) and auditor and businessman P K Ghosh in connection with the scam.