The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) recorded the statements of former Madhya Pradesh chief secretary AV Singh in a 15-year-old fraud case on Friday.
The case pertaining to reduction of penalty of a premier college from Rs24 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh by the erstwhile Digvijaya Singh-led Congress government, has among the accused the former chief minister, his then cabinet colleague Raja Pateriya and the college chairman.
According to EOW sources, the former chief secretary was questioned in connection with the case for around two hours.
He was asked a series of questions pertaining to his signature on the documents related to permission to lower the Rs 24 lakh penalty to Rs 2.5 lakh.
The ex-bureaucrat claimed during questioning that in the note sheet he signed for approval of the government, he had recommended for Rs 24 lakh penalty and not Rs 2.5 lakh penalty. However, the penalty was lowered later at the level of then CM and his ministerial colleague.
The penalty was slapped on the college by the state technical education department over some “wrongful” admission in 2000-01 and 2001-02.
On July 28, 2016, the EOW had recorded statements of the present MP state election commissioner R Parshuram, who was the principal secretary of technical education when the alleged fraud had taken place.
Digvijaya Singh, who was chief minister of the state from 1993 to 2003, along with his technical education minister Raja Pateriya have been accused of unlawfully reducing the penalty of RKDF College from Rs 24 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh, a top official said on Friday.
{{/usCountry}}Digvijaya Singh, who was chief minister of the state from 1993 to 2003, along with his technical education minister Raja Pateriya have been accused of unlawfully reducing the penalty of RKDF College from Rs 24 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh, a top official said on Friday.
{{/usCountry}}Statements of the former chief minister and Pateriya have already been recorded by the EOW in the past.
According to the complaint of a local journalist Radhavallabh Sharda, the former CM and Pateriya, in collusion with the college concerned, waived off the institute’s penalty imposed on it by the government over some ‘wrongful’ admissions in 2000-01 and 2001-02.
The college had then requested Singh to slash the penalty to Rs 5 lakh but he allegedly reduced it to Rs 2.5 lakh.
Digvijaya Singh, Pateriya and the college head were booked in December 2015 by the EOW under relevant sections of the IPC.