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Big B is Jharkhand police informer
This will not exactly be music to Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan’s ears but the Jharkhand police chief allegedly ‘paid’ Rs 21 lakh to an intelligence informer who was given the megastar’s name, reports Bedanti Saran.
This will not exactly be music to Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan’s ears but the Jharkhand police chief allegedly ‘paid’ Rs 21 lakh to an intelligence informer who was given the megastar’s name.
The informer, Sanichar Pandit, used various aliases but was most reluctant to sign two vouchers made out in the name of the megastar at the behest of state Director General of Police Vishnu Dayal Ram.
Although Ram allegedly made the payments amounting to Rs 21 lakh to Pandit, who signed as Amitabh Bachchan, the informer claimed he had received only Rs 10,000.
The money was allegedly paid from the state’s secret service fund.
Pandit has pleaded innocence before the high court, saying that though he served the police under various pseudonyms he never knew how he got Amitabh Bachchan’s name until he was asked to sign receipt vouchers.
“I kept pleading with them (police officers) not to force me sign on the vouchers for the hefty amounts, but my entreaties fell on deaf ears,” said Pandit.
The scam was reported by the Jharkhand Accountant General (AG) in 2005-06 and 2007-08.
Following the unearthing of the scam, a report was submitted to the Jharkhand High Court by state Chief Secretary A.K. Singh recently. The probe report said Ram and the then Additional DGP Rajiv Kumar withdrew Rs 8 crore from the secret service fund but failed to submit statements of expenditure.
“There is no register containing details of amounts paid to different sources by the two former police authorities,” said Singh, who headed the inquiry committee.
Ram, who is currently serving as DGP (Home Guards), said, “Since the matter is subjudice, I will file my reply to the court on August 28.”
