Muzaffarpur police recover ₹67 lakh from engineer in disproportionate assets case

Bihar’s Muzaffarpur Police filed a disproportionate assets (DA) case on Monday against a superintending engineer (SE) of Rural Works Department, currently posted at Darbhanga division

Bihar’s Muzaffarpur Police filed a disproportionate assets (DA) case on Monday against a superintending engineer (SE) of Rural Works Department, currently posted at Darbhanga division. The SE, identified as Anil Kumar, along with his driver Saroj Kumar Singh, was detained by Muzaffarpur police from Phakuli check-post of Kudhni police station after they recovered ₹18 lakh cash on Saturday. Kumar was on his way to Patna from Darbhanga.

Image for representation. (ANI)

The police team, led by ASP (Muzaffarpur West) Syed Imran Masood, raided his rented flat at Barheta in Darbhanga on Sunday and recovered more cash, worth ₹49 lakh, besides documents related to flats and assets.

Kumar, a resident of Malauli village of Khagaria district, has been booked under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code after the income tax department gave a green signal to the police. During the investigation, the I-T department found that the cash was supposed to be delivered to the state capital.

The SE who was taking along this cash could not give a clear statement about where did he draw the cash and where was he was supposed to deliver it. He failed to produce any evidence to the EoU and the I-T department.

Muzaffarpur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Jayant Kant confirmed that the DA case was lodged with Kudhni police station against the superintending engineer and the matter is under probe by sleuths of the Economic Offence Unit (EoU). In the FIR, police also added the sections of the model code of conduct which was enforced on August 24 as the panchayat election was announced.

The joint team of Muzaffarpur police, I-T department and EoU began an extensive probe into the assets and statements of the accused, his wife and others.

He told HT that the Muzaffarpur police, with the assistance of the EoU, searched his flats in the state capital and ancestral house. The value of two flats, one at Jagdeo Path and another located near Veterinary College, was found close to nearly ₹1.5 crore.

Additional director-general of the EoU, NH Khan, said the team comprising two DSPs have been investigating the matter.