06-07-2005, 03:15 AM
Screw tightens around former Patna DM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> Former Patna District Magistrate Gautam Goswami, who has been evading arrest in the multi-crore flood relief scam, on Monday suffered a jolt with a special court turning down his anticipatory bail appplication.
Designated Vigilance Judge Jitendra Mohan Prasad, who earlier reserved his order on conclusion of arguments by Goswami's lawyer Tuhin Shankar and senior public prosecutor of Vigilance P P Singh, dismissed Goswami's anticipatory bail petition.
Soon after rejection of Goswami's petition, Shankar said his client would either surrender or move the superior court against the lower court's order.
Referring to the argument of the defence counsel Shankar that several other officials were involved in the relief work carried out with the help of army helicopters and boats, Singh showed a copy of the payment of Rs Two lakh made by Goswami to a fake firm 'Amibika Coffee house' for coffee from the funds alloted to him as Patna District Magistrate-cum-nodal officer for carrying out relief for flood-hit victims in North Bihar.
"The fund for relief was spent on purchasing coffee and that too from a firm which the Vigilance bureau was yet to locate", he remarked.
Singh said besides over Rs one lakh was also spent on using swimming pools. "it implies that the officials were not not carrying out relief but having pleasure swimming," he said.
He said cheques of several crores of rupees were also issued to a fake firm, Baba Satya Sai Industries (BSSI) instead of the Bihar Small Scale Industries Corporation (BSSIC), towards payment for managing relief.
Singh said when Goswami was ready to cooperate with the Vigilance bureau probing the scam, he should have surrendered by now and "we would have taken him on remand for interrogation". He urged the court not to allow Goswami's plea for bail and claimed that the former Patna DM was deeply involved in the scam.
The Vigilance judge had on May 31 issued non-bailable warrants against Goswami and eight others, including Santosh Jha, the alleged kingpin of the scam.
Jha had already surrendered before the designated judge Prasad who had remanded him to judicial custody till June 10.
Vigilance sleuths have arrested five of the 28 accused.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> Former Patna District Magistrate Gautam Goswami, who has been evading arrest in the multi-crore flood relief scam, on Monday suffered a jolt with a special court turning down his anticipatory bail appplication.
Designated Vigilance Judge Jitendra Mohan Prasad, who earlier reserved his order on conclusion of arguments by Goswami's lawyer Tuhin Shankar and senior public prosecutor of Vigilance P P Singh, dismissed Goswami's anticipatory bail petition.
Soon after rejection of Goswami's petition, Shankar said his client would either surrender or move the superior court against the lower court's order.
Referring to the argument of the defence counsel Shankar that several other officials were involved in the relief work carried out with the help of army helicopters and boats, Singh showed a copy of the payment of Rs Two lakh made by Goswami to a fake firm 'Amibika Coffee house' for coffee from the funds alloted to him as Patna District Magistrate-cum-nodal officer for carrying out relief for flood-hit victims in North Bihar.
"The fund for relief was spent on purchasing coffee and that too from a firm which the Vigilance bureau was yet to locate", he remarked.
Singh said besides over Rs one lakh was also spent on using swimming pools. "it implies that the officials were not not carrying out relief but having pleasure swimming," he said.
He said cheques of several crores of rupees were also issued to a fake firm, Baba Satya Sai Industries (BSSI) instead of the Bihar Small Scale Industries Corporation (BSSIC), towards payment for managing relief.
Singh said when Goswami was ready to cooperate with the Vigilance bureau probing the scam, he should have surrendered by now and "we would have taken him on remand for interrogation". He urged the court not to allow Goswami's plea for bail and claimed that the former Patna DM was deeply involved in the scam.
The Vigilance judge had on May 31 issued non-bailable warrants against Goswami and eight others, including Santosh Jha, the alleged kingpin of the scam.
Jha had already surrendered before the designated judge Prasad who had remanded him to judicial custody till June 10.
Vigilance sleuths have arrested five of the 28 accused.
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