M A I N   N E W S

Multi-crore scam in SBI
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 9
As part of a countrywide crackdown in a multi-crore scam involving misappropriation of funds by certain officials of the State Bank of India, the CBI today conducted raids at residences of two senior officials posted at the Sector 17 branch of the bank. Raids were being conducted at Chandigarh, Ambala and other cities in the country, sources in the CBI said.

Officials of the State Bank of India were diverting the funds from accounts of different government departments to their personal accounts. So far CBI sleuths had unearthed the misappropriation to the tune of Rs 46 lakh. The scam, being run since year 1999, involved amount running into several crores as more relating documents were expected to be recovered in the coming days.

The CBI has already registered a case against the Chief Manager, Ajit Singh, Deputy Manager , J.P. Ranga and other officials in the treasury branch of the SBI. According to the information available, the officials used to credit the debited amount of different government departments on papers only and the amount was being diverted to their personal accounts. To remove the evidence of the scam, the documents relating to it was destroyed. However, raids were being conducted to get hold of the documents relating to the personal assets of the officials.

The sources said more information relating to the scam could pour in as results of the raids being conducted were awaited.

Meanwhile, in another case, the CBI today registered a case against a Commissioner, Income Tax (Appeal) Ahmedabad, Rajpal Singh, for amassing property from channels other than the known sources of income. The Commissioner was landless and belonged to a poor family and after joining the department in December 1981, he acquired 18 kanals of agricultural land in Riar village in Karnal district of Haryana. During 1985 and 1990, he purchased one kanal plot at Karnal and constructed a double storeyed house between 1989 and 1992, when he was Joint Commissioner, Income Tax at Karnal. He also purchased a flat at Mumbai.

The sources said searches were being conducted at Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Balla village in urban estate, Karnal. The results of the raids were awaited, said the sources. A case under Sections 13(1) E and 13 ( 2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act had been registered against the Commissioner.

The evaluation of property of officials in the SBI case and in the case against the Commissioner, Income Tax, was being done. The raids were being conducted as part of a countrywide drive against corruption.