Retired engineer in Bihar jailed for 4 years in 38-year old case

Patna, June 29 (IANS) A special vigilance court in Bihar's Muzaffarpur on Friday awarded four years' imprisonment to a retired engineer in connection with a scam of Rs 20,000 related to the Triveni canal repair case that occurred around 38 years ago.

Special judge Satyaprakash Shukla found retired engineer Surendra Nath Verma (76), a resident of Patna, guilty and sentenced him to jail for four years besides imposing a fine of Rs 10,000.

The scam was reported in 1986-87 during the repair of the Triveni canal under the Ramnagar sub-division in East Champaran district. Verma was then posted as an assistant engineer in the Water Resources Department.

An FIR was lodged by the then vigilance inspector Arun Kumar Singh Vineet against four persons for their alleged involvement in a scam of Rs 20,925.

Apart from Verma, the then executive engineer Ramchandra Prasad Singh, junior engineer Naval Kishore Prasad Singh, and contractor Sami Khan were accused in this case.

Special public prosecutor Krishnadev Shah said, “In the vigilance investigation, it was found that contractor Sami Khan did some work for Rs 1,031 but was paid Rs 21,956. In this way, a scam of 20,925 took place.”

After the investigation, the vigilance bureau filed a charge sheet against the four accused persons. Three of them -- Ramchandra Prasad, Naval Kishore, and Sami Khan -- died during the trial.