Bokaro, June 17: A CBI team today raided the houses of two senior managers of Bokaro Steel, whose names figure in alleged recruitment and corporate social responsibility (CSR) scams.
The sleuths, led by two DSPs from the investigating agency's anti- corruption wing, started the raids at the Sector-IV residences of Alok Shrivastava and A.K.P. Verma from 11am.
For the next three hours, they seized several incriminating documents related to both the scams.
Speaking to The Telegraph, CBI SP P.K. Manjhi said: "Raids were conducted at the houses of the two officials for allegedly amassing property and wealth through corrupt practices. We have seized various documents that shall make the cases stronger against them."
The recruitment scam relates to illegal appointments of "people with connections" by the steel major during the tenure of former managing director V.K. Shrivastava and former executive director Jivesh Mishra between 2007 and 2010.
Chargesheets name several high-profile beneficiaries like Syed M. Razi, son of former Jharkhand Governor Syed Sibte Razi, Raj Kumar Jatiya, son of former BJP Union minister S.N. Jatiya, V.K. Srivastava and Ritesh Kumar, son of former MD of BSL B.K. Singh.
The other accused are Yogesh Chandra Patnaik, son of retired Jharkhand High Court judge D.G.R. Patnaik; Jivesh Mishra, former executive director of BSL; Raj Kumar Narula, former general manager (personnel and administration); A.S. Hembrom, former assistant general manager (personnel); C.G. Kuberkar, former assistant general manager (material division); O.P. Gupta, former general manager (project); K. Rajshekhran and Arvind Prasad, former deputy general managers (personnel); and Ravindra Pandit, assistant general manager, Delhi.
The CSR scam, dating back to 2008, also took place during the tenure of Shrivastava and relates to the alleged swindling of Rs 1.64 crore sanctioned for projects at a Tupkadih village, 5km from Bokaro steel city.
The steel plant had adapted the village for its all-round development, including construction of roads and drainage system, arrangement of drinking water facilities and other amenities under its CSR scheme. The works, handed over to contractor Jai Bhushan Singh, were to be completed in six months.
But Singh, in connivance with senior manager of Bokaro steel A.K.P. Verma, his junior Satyendra Kumar Bariar and senior manager of cooperative society Alok Srivastav, claimed the works were completed on paper while nothing was done at the ground level.
Bariar is already in jail in this case.
"Both A.K.P. Verma and Alok Srivastav were earlier chargesheeted by the CBI, Dhanbad, in the two cases. Moreover, Verma has been chargesheeted by the CBI in a separate DA case of 2013," Manjhi said.
