VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, Jan. 16: The investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has disclosed that mastermind of Rs 100 crore Jharkhand Midday Meal fund scam Sanjay Tiwari was using fake registration numbers for his vehicles, besides, he had forged the identity card of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). These vehicles and ID card were seized by the ED during the raid.
Now, the ED has written a letter to the Ranchi police to lodge an FIR against Sanjay Tiwari for using fake registration numbers for as many as five SUVs which he was using.
Besides, the ED has also informed the NHAI that Sanjay Tiwari forged an identity card of NHAI using his photograph and the name of somebody else. Using fake registration numbers and fake ID are the criminal acts of forgery and impersonation.
The ED, in its investigation report, has stated that Sanjay Tiwari said that using such fake registration numbers for SUVs and ID of NHAI as a part of money laundering.
A native of Hirapur in Dhanbad, Sanjay Tiwari is the owner of Ranchi-based construction company Bhanu Construction. The scam surfaced in 2017 when it was disclosed that Rs.100.14 crore amount of the Jharkhand Midday Meal Authority was transferred to the account of Bhanu Construction (36310149578) at Hatia branch of the SBI.
The fund’s transfer from the SBI account of Jharkhand Midday Meal Authority to Bhanu Construction surfaced when the state body on September 19, 2017 directed the Hatia branch to release funds to districts.
But the bank discovered no cash in the midday meal authority’s account. Its internal investigation revealed that in July 2017, Rs 100.014 Crore landed at the midday meal authority’s SBI Hatia account from the state. On August 5, the entire sum of Rs 100.014 was transferred to Bhanu Construction. At the same time, Sanjay Tiwari had started withdrawing this cash. He did not inform the bank about this unaccounted-for deposit.
It was disclosed that Sanjay Tiwari had transferred Rs 10.5 crore to one Nav Durga Company in Odisha and invested Rs 4 crore in an Axis Bank fixed deposit also. The bank immediately froze Bhanu Construction’s account and informed the CBI’s Economic Offences Unit (Ranchi) & SBI headquarters (Delhi). Two bank employees at Hatia branch Anil Oraon and Kamaljeet Khanna were suspended.
Hailing from Hariharpur in Dhanbad, Tiwari is known as a dubious character. He and his wife Gayatri faced several cases of forgery and cheating in Dhanbad for allegedly swindling over Rs 50 lakh.
