Patna, Aug. 19: Hours after Patna High Court rejected the petition of suspended IAS officer S.S. Verma challenging the vigilance court’s order to confiscate his property, the state government directed the Patna district magistrate to initiate the process of confiscation so that a school could be opened on the premises.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar during the Assembly election campaign had repeatedly declared that buildings of corrupt officials will be taken over and transformed into schools for the children of the downtrodden classes.

Verma’s house in Patna may be the first one to be transformed into a school.

Today, the Patna High Court upheld a special vigilance court’s order to confiscate the disproportionate assets of Verma valued at Rs 1.43 crore.

A bench of Justice Dharnidhar Jha dismissed Verma’s petition challenging the vigilance court’s order directing the authorities to confiscate the assets earned beyond the known sources of then minor irrigation department secretary’s income.

The special vigilance court in Patna, had in March this year ordered for the confiscation of Verma’s assets.

Verma is the second serving public servant of Bihar against whom the process of confiscation of disproportionate assets has been initiated within three months.

The court had directed the Patna district magistrate to complete the process of confiscation of disproportionate assets of Verma, his wife Usha Verma, father Ram Pal Verma, father-in-law Shyam Lal Singh, brothers-in-law Chandra Pal Singh and Krishna Pal Singh and two other relatives, Suman Verma and Upendra Prasad Singh within a month.

A case of disproportionate assets was lodged by the special vigilance unit police station in Patna against Verma on July 3, 2007.