Patna, June 27: The vigilance department has registered an FIR against 11 government officials, including two retired IAS officers, for allotting over 196 acres of government land in Kishanganj for tea cultivation.
The vigilance investigation bureau registered cases against the officials yesterday under Section 13(1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act and sections 409 and 120B of the IPC. They were charged with illegally granting industrial status to tea agriculture and allotting land for the same. The bureau today sent the FIR to the Patna special vigilance court for further proceeding.
The officials named in the FIR are former district magistrates (DMs) of Kishanganj Radheshyam Bihari Singh and Subodh Nath Thakur, former sub-divisional officers Pramod Kumar Singh (Thakurganj sub-division) and Madan Mohan Dev (Kishanganj), former circle officers Raghunandan Jha (Pothia circle), Fatheh Faiyaz (Pothia circle), Poonam Kumari Jha (Thakurganj circle) and Mohammad Maksood Alam (Thakurganj circle), former additional district magistrate (land reforms) Rahbare Islam, and former assistant district magistrates (land reforms) Ram Niwas Pandey and Bangali Ram.
According to the FIR, Singh and Thakur illegally allotted government land of Pothia and Thakurganj circles to 44 people, including five members of a family, on 99 years of lease for tea cultivation.
The circle officers had first sent a proposal for land allotment to the ADMs for tea plantation, who in turn recommended the same to the district magistrates. The DMs then agreed to the proposal.
The accused persons have been charged with allotting 182.07 acres of land on lease in Pothia and Thakurganj blocks. They also allotted another 13.94 acres of “Gair Majarua Aam” land in the same block illegally.
Thakur, an 1989 promotee IAS officer, was posted as DM of Kishanganj from July 10, 1997 to June 29, 1998. Singh, another promotee IAS officer, succeeded him and held the post till November 12, 1999.
“The two IAS officers faced departmental proceedings for their action. After their retirement, the government handed the case to the vigilance bureau. After investigation, we came to the conclusion that criminal cases can be registered against them,” said an officer.
