Patna district council head levels graft charges against RCP Singh's kin

Patna, Aug 21 (IANS) Anju Devi, the president of Patna district council has levelled serious allegations against IAS officer Suharsh Bhagat for his alleged involvement in Rs 7.25 crore scam during his tenure in the department.

Bhagat is son-in-law of union steel minister R.C.P. Singh.

Anju Devi's statement came after she was reportedly terminated from the post of Patna district council president. Anju Devi however said that she has not received a letter of termination officially from the Panchayati Raj department.

"I have informed each and every senior official including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Panchayati Raj Minister Samrat Chaudhary about the wrongdoings by Bhagat for the last few years. I have also presented the proof of misappropriation of Rs 7.25 crore by him but no one has taken action against him," Anju Devi said.

"I am being punished by the Nitish Kumar government for objecting to the wrongdoings of Suharsh Bhagat. He was chief executive officer of Patna district council last year and he had called the meeting of district council on February 4, 2020 and managed to pass some projects. In the name of those projects, he allegedly misappropriated Rs 7.25 crore," Anju Devi alleged.

"I had submitted point wise replies to the department, Panchayati Raj minister, senior officials and chief minister but no one paid attention to it. R.C.P. Singh is considered number 2 in JD(U) after Nitish Kumar and started penalizing me. All senior officers of the department created hurdles for me," she said.

As per an official of Panchayati Raj department, Samrat Chaudhary sacked Anju Devi on August 19, 2021. He alleged that Anju Devi kept important files of some projects. She was not taking any meeting for different development projects having an estimated cost Rs 17.20 crore sanctioned by the finance department.

The Panchayati Raj department has also issued notice to her and she replied on August 16. Anju Devi called for the meeting on August 17 wherein projects were not discussed due to chaos created by council members.

Anju Devi sat on Dharna after the incident. She was terminated on August 19.