Srijan scam: Nitish Kumar, Sushil Modi must quit, says RJD

Patna: The RJD on Monday said Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi should resign to allow an impartial probe in to the multi-crore Srijan scam. 

The RJD also disrupted proceedings of the state Assembly over the issue.  “Since the scam happened in their knowledge, they should resign to allow an impartial probe,” leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Tejashwi Yadav said. Mahesh Mandal, one of the main accused in the case, died in the hospital late on Sunday evening. 

RJD vice-president Shivanand Tiwary told this newspaper, “The accused died under mysterious circumstances as a few people sitting at the top were scared that he may spill the beans.”

Mr Tiwary added that the Bhagalpur-based Srijan scam was going the Vyapam scam way, where one after another of the accused and witnesses died.

Mahesh Mandal, an accountant in the Bhagalpur district welfare department, was arrested on August 13 from his residence after the scam surfaced.

He was rushed to the hospital in Bhagalpur on Sunday after his health deteriorated.  Mandal’s family members blamed the hospital for negligence and said, “His treatment was delayed which led to his death.”

Sources from Bhagalpur told this newspaper that Mahesh Mandal was undergoing treatment for multiple ailments, including diseases related to the kidney, diabetes, and cancer, before the SIT arrested him last week.  

“First death in the Srijan scam case raises questions. A total of 13 persons were arrested for their involvement in the Srijan scam and one accused has died. The accused who died was the father of a rich JD(U) leader from Bhagalpur,” RJD chief Lalu Yadav said in a tweet on Monday.

The scam first came to light on August 4 after a cheque of `10 crore issued by the Bhagalpur district magistrate was returned due to insufficient funds. The state government later found out that an NGO had siphoned off government funds which were allocated for various schemes.

Sources said that the NGO used bank and government officials to transfer public funds to their account with the help of forged signatures of the district magistrate.

After Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar raised the issue during an event in Patna on August 8, a probe committee was constituted.

On Thursday, the chief minister also recommended a CBI inquiry into the scam. Ten FIRs have been registered and 13 persons arrested so far in the `700 crore scam.

It is alleged that Mahesh Mandal was a close associate of the founding member of the NGO, Manorama Devi, who died in February.