VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, April 20: The decision of the Jharkhand High Court for a CBI probe into the 34th National Games scam has rekindled hope of another premier agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to get the necessary documents required for investigation.
Reliable sources said that not only the Jharkhand Anti-Corruption Bureau but even the department of Sports and Youth Affairs ignored repeated requests of the ED for documents of this case.
Sources confided that the ED on a number of occasions sought replies and documents from the department of Sports about the terms and conditions on which the contract for construction of the mega sports complex was given to the Nagarjuna Construction Company Limited. The preliminary inquiry has suggested that undue favour was extended to this company in awarding contracts. Even the terms of conditions of contracts were detrimental to the financial interest of the state government.
Notably, the High court in the judgment has directed the Jharkhand Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to hand over all documents to the CBI with a note of warning that strict action will be taken if any department and official concerned refuse any document to the CBI pertaining to this case.
The ED is also investigating a case related to this scam. But the investigation was never expedited and it was not in the desired direction since the ACB, according to sources, did not share documents with the ED.
Now the ED is understood to have decided to move a petition before the High Court to seek a direction that a similar order should be passed so that the ED gets access to documents of this case. The agency has started a legal consultation in this matter.
The ED has a larger ambit of investigation than that of the ACB which is only investigating the scam in the procurement of sports equipment. It is also exploring purported scams in the construction of mega sports complexes. The initial estimated amount of the project was Rs 206 Crore which was pegged to Rs 340.67 crore and finally Rs 424 crore.
