SJDA probe a shield for TMC, says Asok

TT, Siliguri, July 22: Siliguri mayor Asok Bhattacharya today said the state government was using the CID to shield board members of the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority during whose tenure an alleged funds misuse took place.

He said the CID chargesheet filed at the additional chief judicial magistrate's court yesterday did not have the names of SJDA board members, most of who were from Trinamul. The misuse dates back to 2011-13 when Rs 60 crore was given to several private contractors although no work was allegedly done in any of the projects.

At that time, IAS officer G. Kiran Kumar was the CEO of the SJDA. He is in judicial custody. 

Seven of the 13 SJDA board members were from Trinamul, one from the Congress, and five were administrative officials.

The lone Congress member, MLA Sankar Malakar, resigned from the board following a prod from his party when the funds misuse was reported. Three Trinamul leaders of the seven members are still on the SJDA board.

"The CID has submitted a chargesheet regarding one of the cases in a hurried manner. We have come to know that none of the (SJDA) board members has been named in the chargesheet and only some contractors, suspended engineers, the former CEO and some of his relatives have been named," Bhattacharya said in Calcutta today.

"This clearly indicates that the state and Trinamul are using the CID to shield the then board members of SJDA, some of whom are in the SJDA board even now," he added.

Yesterday, the CID named 16 persons, including Kiran Kumar, in its chargesheet in the Mainaguri crematorium case. Two of Kiran Kumar's relatives have also been named in the CID chargesheet.

"It is pretty clear that Kiran Kumar alone could not have made payments to private contractors without consulting the former chairman of the SJDA (Rudranath Bhattacharya) and other board members," the mayor said today.

He added that Trinamul was playing politics over the chargesheet. "Leaders of Trinamul are aware that the board members, who are mostly from their party, were involved in the scam. This has made them desperate to hush up the issue by arresting the IAS officer. We will not relent and we will keep on harping that all those accused of siphoning off government funds should be arrested and there should be a CBI probe," Bhattacharya said.

"At least four board members, including former (SJDA) chairman and Siliguri MLA Rudranath Bhattacharya, were interrogated by Siliguri metropolitan police. It is surprising that the CID has not found anything against them. Even lawyers of Kiran Kumar have time and again mentioned that during his tenure as the CEO, he has executed decisions taken by the then board," he said.

The mayor today questioned the silence of state's administrative brass. "On November 30, 2013, when Kiran Kumar was arrested by K. Jayaraman, the then commissioner of Siliguri metropolitan police, chief secretary Sanjay Mitra had said he had exceeded his brief. The IAS officer got bail within 23 hours. Why is the chief secretary silent now and not defending Kiran Kumar?"

He added: "It is sheer contradiction and it indicates that earlier, the state was desperate to save Kiran Kumar but now that his involvement has been proved by the CID, the state has changed its stance and it is putting all efforts to end the inquiry."

Bhattacharya said the CID had arrested Kiran Kumar to prevent a probe by the Enforcement Directorate, which had interrogated him earlier.

As the Left criticised Trinamul, district leaders of the ruling party dodged questions. "The investigation and necessary legal process are in progress. We have nothing to comment. The state started the probe on the scam on its own according to instructions of the chief minister," north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb said today.

"Complaints were filed by the CEO of the SJDA (Sharad Dwivedi, who succeeded Kiran Kumar) and a senior engineer. Political leaders who are crying hoarse over the scam know well that we initiated the investigation. It was done by the state on its own and not under any pressure. Those in the opposition launched movement and agitation only after the arrests," he added.

Around eight cases were filed after the SJDA scam came to light.

Congress leader Malakar, the Matigara-Naxalbari MLA, said: "I was an ordinary member and did not have much power. I would only put my signature on the attendance register at the board meeting and attend it."

Rajdeep Majumdar, an advocate at the Calcutta High Court who is representing Kiran Kumar, issued a press note yesterday evening saying his client has not named any SJDA board member during interrogation by the CID.

"My client has cooperated with the investigating agencies during past two-and-half years. Before the agencies, he has always maintained that all the works have been taken up as per the board's decision and the payments were made on the basis of measurement books presented by the concerned engineers," the note said.