PATNA: In a significant development, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday arrested Rajri Priya, daughter-in-law of Manorama Devi, the alleged mastermind behind over Rs.1000 crore Srijan Scam in Bihar's Bhagalpur district.
Rajni Priya was on the run ever since the central investigating agency took over the charge of the cases related to the misappropriation of government funds by fudging records between 2003 and 2014. The money was subsequently deposited in the unauthorized bank of the NGO, sources in the CBI said.
Rajni Priya, also a key accused in the scam, was arrested from the Sahibabad area of Ghaziabad town adjacent to New Delhi. A special CBI court in Patna had issued a non-bailable warrant of arrest against Rajni Priya declaring her a proclaimed offender.
After the death of Manorama Devi, the founder of the Bhagalpur-based NGO NGO Srijan Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti, Rajni Priya was made secretary of the NGO. The CBI took over the charge of the cases related to the scam in 2017 on the recommendation of the Bihar government.
Sources said that altogether 24 cases were registered by the CBI against the office bearers of the NGO, bank officials, employees of the district collectorate, and others. Some building developers of the district headquarters town were also quizzed by the investigating officers.
As per the FIRs, the officials of the said NGO entered into a conspiracy with officials of various banks, including Bank of Baroda, Indian Bank, and Bank of India for diversion of government funds into the accounts of the NGO by using forged documents.
The CBI had filed numerous chargesheets in the case in which several persons, including a former district magistrate of Bhagalpur, have been named accused.
It is alleged that the Srijan Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti, which was assigned to impart training to women, had pilfered government funds in connivance with bank officials and state government officials between 2003 and 2014, officials said.
The alleged transfer and misuse of funds from government bank accounts to accounts of the NGO through a conspiracy hatched between government officials and office bearers of the NGO.
The initial investigation carried out by the state police revealed that the NGO used to procure checkbooks of government officials from the banks and forged the signature of the district magistrate to transfer government funds to the accounts of the NGO.
The CBI probe also found the involvement of officials of nationalized banks and government officials in the fraudulent withdrawal of funds from government bank accounts of Bhagalpur, Banka, and Saharsa districts.
The founder of the NGO Manorama Devi had close connections in the corridors of power.