PATNA: The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police conducted simultaneous searches on Saturday at the office and residential premises of Bidu Kumar, Superintendent of Beur Central Jail near Patna, in connection with a disproportionate assets case.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of EOU, Manavjeet Singh Dhillon, stated that the searches were carried out at various locations linked to the jail superintendent after obtaining a court order.
Initial investigations revealed that Bidu Kumar had amassed disproportionate assets, which were 146% higher than his known sources of income.
The raiding team also searched Kumar’s ancestral house at Bishunpur under Bihta block in Patna district. Meanwhile, another team raided the residence of Neeraj Singh, a businessman based in Motihari, East Champaran district.
Singh, who is involved in real estate, reportedly came into contact with Bidu Kumar during the latter’s tenure as superintendent of Motihari Central Jail. Investigations revealed that Neeraj Singh had illegally earned significant wealth.
About a year ago, a Motihari-based doctor complained to Singh, alleging that he invested money in real estate on behalf of the jail superintendent.
The EOU has reportedly collected evidence of the money trail during the initial investigation.
Neeraj Singh’s political influence is evident from his recent announcement to contest the upcoming assembly election from Sheohar, a Rajput-dominated constituency. "A close associate of Neeraj is also on the radar of the probe agency," a senior EOU official said on Saturday.
In 2017, sleuths of the special vigilance unit raided the premises of DIG (Prisons) Shivendra Priyadarshi at three locations in Patna, uncovering disproportionate assets worth over Rs 1 crore.
These raids were carried out at Dew Kush County Apartment in Friends Colony, Vrindawan Apartment on Ashiana Nagar-Digha Road, and house number 4 at Jai Prakash Nagar, following a search warrant issued by special vigilance judge Madhukar Kumar.
Meanwhile, DIG, EOU, Manavjeet Singh Dhillon stated that details of cash and other recoveries during the ongoing search operations at the jail superintendent’s locations would be shared with the media upon the operation’s completion.