Bihar police arrest DTO for cheating people on the pretext of mining contracts

In the complaint, Mohammad Diwan alleged that the DTO forced him to pay ₹40 lakh with the assurance of giving him the licence for the mining tender

The Kaimur police in Bihar on Friday arrested a district transport officer (DTO) of Lakhisarai district on charges of duping a person to the tune of ₹40 lakh over a period of two years on the pretext of giving him a sand mining contract.

The DTO, identified as Mohammad Ziaullah, also holds the additional charge of Sheikhpura, a district notorious for illegal mining.

Kaimur SP Lalit Mohan Sharma told HT that the DTO was wanted in a case registered with the Bhabhua police on August 28 based on a statement given by Mohammad Diwan Shanshah Khan. Ziaullah was arrested from his official residence in Lakhisarai and sent to judicial custody after interrogation.

In the complaint, Mohammad Diwan alleged that the DTO, earlier posted in Rohtas, forced him to pay ₹40 lakh with the assurance of giving him the licence for the mining tender.

“I sold my agricultural land and paid ₹40 lakh in separate bank accounts of the DTO’s cousin and his wife, and ₹80,000 in the account of his bodyguard Mohammad Shamsher,” the complainant said.

Diwan further revealed that he first lodged a complaint before the additional director general of economic offence unit, NH Khan, who ordered the Kaimur SP to lodge an FIR against the accused after thorough investigation.

The Kaimur police eventually lodged the FIR under sections 420/406/409/120b of the Indian Penal Code, and Prevention of Corruption Act. During the probe, the police found sufficient evidence against the DTO to arrest him.

The police also found that the DTO and his relatives cheated many people in the Shahabad range the same way. “Some of them might speak out in the coming days. The DTO will be taken on remand for a detailed interrogation to recover the money he accumulated by cheating people,” an investigating officer familiar with the matter said.

The DTO had filed an anticipatory bail petition before the special vigilance court in Patna but the court rejected it on November 8.