VIJAY
Ranchi, March 1: More than a dozen MLAs and politicians of Jharkhand were allegedly in touch with the billionaire Chief Engineer of Jharkhand, Virendra Ram, to get tenders of the Rural Development Department for contractors of their choice.
Well-placed sources confirmed there were around 17 such MLAs/politicians which include two women legislators who had frequent and lengthy conversations with Virendra Ram. Apparently, all of them are associated with the current ruling dispensation.
According to sources, there are several other senior bureaucrats who regularly spoke to Virendra Ram to manage tenders.
“Jo panch percent commission nahin dega usko kaam nahin milega,” one of the bureaucrats is heard directing Virendra Ram regarding one such tenders of the Rural Development department where he is the chief engineer.
This has come out of scrutiny of a large volume of telephonic conversations of the engineer with several people.
The engineer was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last week in the year 2019 graft case originally lodged by the Jharkhand Anti-Corruption Bureau against a junior engineer Suresh Prasad Verma.
During investigation the ED had put Virendra Ram and several others under surveillance and lawfully intercepted their telephonic conversations. The MLAs/politicians regularly spoke to Virendra Ram. They were heard asking him to favour contractors of their choice and drop and disqualify other participants from the tender process.
Virendra Ram is being questioned by the ED in the police remand. The ED confronted him with several audio conversations where he identified persons on the other end of the phone. It is alleged that Virendra Ram mostly obliged them.
The ED has alleged him as the kingpin of the tender scam involving several politicians and bureaucrats.
In fact, the ED has dropped thick hints of politician-bureaucrat nexus while seeking remand of the engineer. “Further, during the investigation names of senior bureaucrats and politicians have emerged which are being investigated by the E.D. It is further submitted that certain highly placed officials/ politicians are involved in this nexus and the huge payments were usually received in cash which were later laundered which needs to be unearthed,” it said.
