Taking action against the alleged charges of large-scale corruption in construction of memorials and statues during the Mayawati regime, the Lucknow unit of Vigilance Establishment arrested four senior officers of UP Rajkiya Nirman Nigam on Friday.
These officers posted in senior positions in UPRNN between 2007 and 2012 were already named in the FIR registered by the Vigilance Department in Gomti Nagar. Besides, the Enforcement Directorate had also filed a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to investigate these allegations after taking cognisance of a state Vigilance Department complaint of 2014. The ED had also carried out raids at seven places at the residences of engineers of the Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam and private firms and recovered huge cash and other documents related to investment of several crore rupees.
Sources on Friday confirmed that the Lucknow unit of the Vigilance Establishment probing the memorial scam arrested the then financial advisor of UPRNN, Vimalkant Mridul, the then general manager (technical) SK Tyagi, the then general manager Krishna Kumar and project incharge, Kameshwar Sharma.
The sleuths grilled them before producing them in the designated court to seek their remand.
It may be mentioned that earlier the vigilance complaint was filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act relating to alleged financial irregularities in the construction of memorials, including statues of Bahujan Samaj Party founder Kanshi Ram and the party's poll symbol 'elephant', during the regime of former Chief Minister Mayawati between 2007 and 2012.
It was alleged that the said act "resulted in the loss of over Rs 1,11,44,35,066 to the government exchequer and unlawful gain to public servants and private individuals".
The state government headed by Mayawati had built the memorials, statues and parks at a cost of over Rs 2,600 crore in Lucknow, Noida and a few other places in the state. The UP Lokayukta had earlier indicted Mayawati's two cabinet colleagues, Naseemuddin Siddiqui and Babu Singh Kushwaha, besides 12 BSP MLAs and several others for alleged wrong-doings in the purchase of sandstone for the memorials. On the Lokayukta's report, the Vigilance Department FIR was lodged against them in 2014.
The other persons against whom the case was registered include more than 100 engineers and officers of the UP Rajkiya Nirman Nigam, Public Works Department and New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA).
