Raipur: The Chhattisgarh high court, in an order which will shake the state’s political scenario, has opened the gates for the Central Bureau of Investigation to enter the state and question its top officials and politicians. It has ordered the CBI to register a first information report (FIR) in an alleged Rs 1,000-crore scam which resembles the infamous chara ghotala (fodder scam) of Lalu Prasad’s Bihar.The petitioner, Kundan Singh Thakur of the Congress, has named 12 bureaucrats, including seven IAS officers, in his petition.The officers are accused of siphoning off funds to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore from the State Resource Centre (SRC) and the Physical Referral Rehabilitation Centre (PRRC) of the state government. The high court has found that that these centres only exist on paper, though salaries and expenses were drawn in the name of non-existent employees every month with the officials’ knowledge.“The respondent officers being high ranked, there is apprehension that the investigation may be influenced, therefore, having considered the law laid down and the observations made by the Supreme Court in the facts and circumstances of the case, we direct that the matter be investigated by the CBI in a fair and independent manner,” the court has said.The order comes two days after home minister Amit Shah’s high-profile visit to Raipur, where he presided over a meeting of four chief ministers of the central zone – Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.The surprising thing is that two former chief secretaries – Vivek Dhand and Sunil Kujur – have been named among seven IAS officers who presided over the depletion of the state treasury for more than 14 years. Rs 35-40 lakh was withdrawn every month in the name of these centres, and the money vanished into a few hands in the Social Welfare Department. The fodder scam was similarly planned, as money was withdrawn from the treasury for fodder for non-existent cattle.The order was passed by a division bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Parth Prateem Sahu on a petition filed by Kundan Singh Thakur and others. Dhand and several officers rushed to the court today along with the advocate-general S.C. Verma to try and get a stay put on the order, but the court has flatly refused. The bench has said that the FIR should be registered before the next hearing.Thakur in his petition has alleged that several persons, including himself, were shown as employees of the SRC and PRRC, formed for the rehabilitation of people with disabilities, and salaries were drawn in their names without their knowledge.There are several facets to the high court order. This will not be an ordinary FIR filed on a corruption complaint. The high court is convinced that there has been a consistent looting of the state treasury over several years, presided over by Dhand and company. It is crystal clear in its order:“The CBI shall register FIR within one week from today.The CBI shall seize the relevant original records from the concerned department, organisation and offices within 15 days from the date of registration of FIR.”The court is also fully apprised of the fact that respondent officers are ‘high-ranked’ and ‘there is apprehension that the investigation may be influenced’. Because of that, it has directed the CBI to approach it if it counters any difficulty or lack of cooperation.Also read: Bhopal’s Sex-and-Blackmail Racket Has Dealt Kamal Nath a Strong Political HandInterestingly, at least two of the IAS officials named are serial offenders. B.L. Agarwal’s services had been terminated by the Department of Personnel and Training on allegations of a massive Rs 250 crore scam, but he managed to get relief from the Central Administrative Tribunal. Alok Shukla, who was recently reinstated as the education secretary after five years’ suspension because of the Nagrik Apurti Nigam scam, is still under investigation.Other IAS officers allegedly involved include M.K. Raut, M.K. Shroti and seven social welfare department officials.The most ironical part is that most of these officials, who served under the Raman Singh government when the scam is alleged to have taken place, have been rehabilitated by Bhupesh Baghel. Dhand is the chairman of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority, Raut is the chief information commissioner, Sunil Kujur, who was Baghel’s first chief secretary, is now chairman of an election tribunal.The chief minister is likely to come under pressure to seek their resignation, since this is no ordinary FIR and prima facie the guilt is established. So far, the Raman Singh-led opposition has kept quiet.Note: This article was edited to include details from the high court order and remove the claim that the court has asked for an FIR against 12 specific individuals.
