Bihar funds diversion scam: NGO Srijan’s accounts reveal frequent withdrawals

The CBI, now probing the Rs 1.300-cr scam, has undertaken the process of ascertaining transaction details of six active accounts of Srijan in Bank of Baroda (BOB), which were frozen soon after the scam was unearthed.

A perusal of the bank accounts of Srijan Mahila Sahyog Samiti, the NGO accused of siphoning of hundreds of crores of rupees from government accounts through fraudulent transfers to its own accounts, has revealed frequent withdrawal of funds. 

NGO Srijan’s office at Bhagalpur in south eastern Bihar.(HT file photo)

The CBI, now probing the scam worth an estimated Rs 1,300 crore, has undertaken the process of ascertaining transaction details of six active accounts of Srijan in Bank of Baroda (BOB) which were frozen soon after the scam was unearthed. A team of CBI officials had visited main branch of BOB last week. 

On Monday, the CBI team interrogated a local official of the Indian Bank, in which Srijan has accounts.

Major illegal parking of government funds of land acquisition and welfare departments in BOB accounts has already been detected.

As per a preliminary assessment, the total balance taking together all the accounts is around 10-15 lakhs, a very low figure. Account details suggest people at the helm of affairs in Srijan had withdrawn the funds in a planned way, apprehending the unearthing of the scam. 

The amount left in the accounts could be taken as meagre if the total government money that was transferred to Srijan account was taken into consideration.

A police officer involved in the scam investigation, as a member of the police special investigation team (SIT), which probed the matter before the CBI took over, said apart from active accounts there are number of other accounts of Srijan in local bank branches that remained operational for a certain period before being closed.

Srijan accounts at Indian Bank and Bhagalpur Central Cooperative Bank, apart from BOB, were identified at local level in which government funds had been transferred. 

Sources said altogether 75 accounts of Srijan were frozen after the scam was unearthed. The income tax department has also started scanning the details of the accounts, sources said.