Patna, Oct. 4: The mystery over the fraudulent withdrawal of money from a former State Food Corporation (SFC) manager’s bank accounts has become murkier with a vigilance bureau employee accusing a top police officer of being involved in the crime.

Abhijeet Sinha, a computer operator with the vigilance bureau arrested for allegedly withdrawing Rs 5.1 lakh from the bank accounts of Manoj Kumar, has accused deputy superintendent of police (vigilance) C.P. Paswan of forcing him to commit the crime. Sinha was caught on October 2 with a vigilance constable.

Paswan was heading a vigilance team that arrested Manoj, the former manager of SFC’s Vaishali branch, while accepting bribe from a Hajipur resident on August 11, 2011. Repeated attempts to contact the DSP proved futile.

Sources in the vigilance department said Sinha told the interrogators that he had withdrawn cash from the ATMs at Soochna Bhavan and Vishveswarya Bhavan near Bailey Road on two occasions. “Paswan was with me both the times,” a source quoted the computer operator as saying.

Sinha, who was on deputation at the Patna office of the vigilance bureau from Beltron, said the video footage of the two ATMs would substantiate his claim.

Sinha was also quoted as saying: “Paswan had told me that the two ATM cards used to withdraw the money belonged to his son and daughter.”

A senior vigilance bureau officer said Paswan had been shifted from the bureau office and recalled to the headquarters. “He (Paswan) has not been given a new posting so far. His involvement in the incident is being verified,” the officer added.

Additional director-general (vigilance) Pramod Kumar Thakur today said no bureau official would be spared if evidence of graft were found against him/her. “We are trying to find out the role of every member of the vigilance team that had zeroed in on the SFC official. But the investigation is heading towards the right direction,” he added.

Sources said Prakash Kujoor, the constable arrested with Sinha, claimed during interrogation that the suspended SFC official had given him two debit cards. The two cards were found from Kujoor’s Purnea residence at the time of his arrest.

“Manoj had given me two debit cards while he was being taken into custody by the vigilance team, of which I was also a part. The vigilance officers had taken away five debit cards from the SFC official,” Kujoor was quoted as saying. The constable, who was suspended after being arrested, told the interrogators that Manoj had provided him with the personal index numbers of the two debit cards.

“I withdrew Rs 50,000 from Kujoor’s bank account following his request,” Manoj said.