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Kolkata, Oct 26 (IANS) Chief investigator and former joint director of the federal probe agency Upendra Nath Biswas on Sunday said former CBI director Joginder Singh told me to ‘don’t touch’ RJD president and Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in the Rs 950 crore fodder scam of the 1990s and to let him go.
Biswas, in an exclusive interview with IANS, recalled how, during 1996–1997, former CBI chief Joginder Singh had called him to his office and tried to convince him to take a soft stance against Lalu Prasad Yadav.
“He said to Biswas, do you think Lalu Yadav is the only politician who is corrupt. All politicians in India are corrupt. Why are you chasing Lalu? He said, do something so that Lalu gets saved. Go after anyone but don’t touch Lalu,” said the retired Central Bureau of Investigation joint director.
Biswas said that the then CBI director also tried to convince him by saying that there would be no adverse judicial consequences if he released Lalu.
Sharing another fact about the decades-old investigation into the Rs 950 crore fodder scam, 84-year-old Biswas said his team got support from some honest officials within the system.
“A turning point in the fodder scam case was a call from a young IAS officer, who asked me to meet him in the office and collect a trunk-load of documentary evidence in the case,” he said.
Appreciated by his peers for his impartial investigation and ability to withstand interference during the investigation, Biswas revealed that it was only due to close monitoring of the courts that he managed to withstand pressure from his superiors to adopt a soft stance towards Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Recalling the days of high-profile investigations, he said, ‘The accused of misappropriation worked at lower levels, but their connections took us to the Chief Minister.’
“Those who committed the crime gave money to people at upper levels and later issued orders. This was a big conspiracy, which shows complete disregard for law and administration,” Biswas said.
The fodder scam came to light during 1990–91 and 1995–96. As part of this, officials of the erstwhile Bihar Animal Husbandry Department, in connivance with unscrupulous suppliers and others, siphoned off and siphoned off hundreds of crores of rupees in the name of making payments to suppliers who had submitted fake/fake bills misrepresenting the supply of feed, fodder and veterinary drugs.
It was further alleged that the government funds so withdrawn were ultimately misused. During the investigation, the role of bureaucrats, politicians including the then Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo and Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and others came to light.
–IANS
RCH/UK