RANCHI: After nearly three decades, a Special CBI court in Ranchi has delivered its verdict in the high-profile Alkatra (bitumen) scam case, convicting four accused and sentencing them to three years in jail with fines, while acquitting three others for lack of evidence.
According to Advocate Sanjay Kumar, this case was pending in the courts for a considerable period, and the verdict has now been delivered after 29 years.
“The court of Special CBI Judge Yogesh Kumar took a firm stance in the high-profile Bitumen scam case and sentenced four convicts, including Vinay Kumar Sinha (a transporter), to three years of rigorous imprisonment each on charges of corruption and the embezzlement of government property,” said Advocate Sanjay Kumar. Additionally, financial penalties have been imposed on all of them, he added.
According to Kumar, the prosecution presented the testimonies of 35 witnesses as well as documentary evidence before the court to substantiate the case. Special Public Prosecutor Khushboo Jaiswal represented the CBI in the proceedings, he said.
Notably, there were a total of nine accused persons in this case, including Md Ishaq, SK Das, SN Aurangzeb, SC Prasad, Bharat Prasad Gupta, transporter Vinay Kumar Sinha, Rajkumar Rai, RS Mandal, and Ashish. During the course of the trial, two of the accused, Md. Ishaq and Bharat Prasad Gupta, passed away.
According to the prosecution, a scam was perpetrated involving three orders for the supply of bitumen. This case dates back to 1997 (RC-12(A)/1997-D) and involved the supply of bitumen from the Haldia Depot to Barhi.
The CBI investigation revealed, layer by layer, that under three supply orders issued for the consignment, the transporter had indeed collected the goods from Haldia but failed to deliver the entire quantity to the intended destination. Approximately 154 metric tons of bitumen vanished on the way. Furthermore, the transporter defrauded the public exchequer by submitting forged freight bills at the Barauni check-post without reporting them.