The Srijan scam also encompassed Banka; nearly Rs 83.10 crore has been found missing from the district land acquisition department. That takes the quantum of the scam to at least Rs 870.88 crore.

Police sources alleged Jayshree Thakur, former land acquisition officer of both Banka and Bhagalpur, and officials of the Bhagalpur branches of the Bank of Baroda and Indian Bank played a key role in the fraudulent withdrawal.

The sleuths have found that the amount was transferred to the account of the NGO, Srijan Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti Ltd.

Aditya Narayan Jha, the present district land acquisition officer of Banka, registered an FIR on Monday with the Banka Town police station against Thakur and former branch managers of the Bhagalpur branches of Bank of Baroda and Indian Bank along with Manorama Devi, the late founder of Srijan, for embezzlement of government money.

The FIR alleges that during the tenure of Thakur as district land acquisition officer in Banka from 2009-2013, she managed to open bank accounts of the department at the Bhagalpur branches of the two banks.

The special investigating team (SIT) probing the scam has started conducting raids to nab Thakur, who is also a former Bhagalpur additional district magistrate, and other absconding government employees. Thakur was recently removed from service by the state cabinet.

The SIT, sources said, has also managed to obtained evidences of a nexus between Srijan officials and Abhishek Verma alias Deepak Verma, whose house in Sabour the SIT sleuths raided on Monday and Tuesday.

Verma is the district president of the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP). The SIT sleuths have found 58 documents that show huge investments by Verma and his brother Babloo Verma. Their wives are members of the executive committee of Srijan, the documents suggest.