Bharatmala land acquisition ‘scam’: Fugitive officer held

Raipur: The Economic Offences Wing/Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested Nirbhay Kumar Sahu, former sub-divisional officer and competent authority for land acquisition in Abhanpur, Raipur district, in connection with the Bharatmala land compensation scam, officials said.Investigators alleged that Sahu, while serving as the competent authority for land acquisition at Abhanpur, misused his official position and entered into a criminal conspiracy with subordinate revenue staff, including a patwari and revenue inspector, as well as land dealer Harmeet Singh Khanuja, Uma Tiwari and others.ACB/EOW chief Amresh Mishra said in a statement that Sahu was an accused in a crime registered under IPC sections 409, 467, 468, 471, 420 and 120B, along with Sections 7(c) and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, in connection with alleged irregularities in compensation disbursal for the Raipur-Visakhapatnam and Durg bypass stretches of the Bharatmala road project.According to the probe, land parcels affected by the project in villages Nayakbandha, Ugetra, Urla, Bhelwadih and Tokaro under Abhanpur tehsil were allegedly split into multiple sub-plots using backdated entries, enabling compensation to be paid at amounts several times higher than the actual entitlement.The agency also alleged that land earlier acquired for the Nayakbandha reservoir was shown as acquired again for the Bharatmala project and compensation was paid afresh, causing a loss of crores of rupees to the state exchequer.Officials said Sahu had been on the run for a long time and efforts to trace him were continuing. His bail plea was rejected by the Supreme Court, and permanent arrest warrants and proclamation orders were issued against him and other absconding public servants by the special court.Following his arrest, the agency produced Sahu before the special court in Raipur and secured police remand from Mar 17 to Mar 30 for further questioning.