Cash flowed from DM to Sadhu Yadav’s man

How big this chunk was hasn’t been ascertained yet but the evidence so far indicates a clear nexus between Jha and the kingpins of the scam.

Jha used to be regular in Rashtriya Janata Dal circles. He issued newspaper advertisements hailing Sadhu Yadav—brother of the then chief minister Rabri Devi—during festivals. And after failing to get an RJD ticket in the last Assembly elections in February, contested on Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party ticket from the Madhepur seat in Madhubani district. Winning 6151 votes, he came fourth.

Jha was not available for comment despite repeated attempts.

According to Patna DM Sudheer Kumar, Rs 7.29 lakh of flood relief money has been paid for a Bolero vehicle in the name of Rajeev Kumar Jha of village Sanghi in Madhubani. Authorities suspect that Rajeev could be related to Santosh. The car, records show, was bought from Bebco Motors in Jamshedpur.

What makes Santosh Kumar Jha a prime suspect in the scam along with Goswami, sources told The Indian Express, is that he could be the mystery B K Singh appearing in official records. There is enough reason.

• Santosh Jha is already an accused in a case of siphoning of Rs 2.25 crore from literacy funds in Katihar district in 2003. (Case Number 151/2003 with the Town Police Station, Katihar).

• In April 2004—anticipating flood relief in the summer—Sanjeev Kumar, who is yet to be identified, opened an account under the name Baba Satya Sai Industries. (This abbreviated is BSSI, similar to the initials of Bihar Small Scale Industries Corporation, the sole legitimate supplier of relief).

• Sanjeev Kumar was introduced to IDBI Bank in Patna by Poonam Printing Press, which is owned by Santosh Jha. Incidentally, this same Poonam Printing Press was the front for the 2003 literacy scam in Katihar.

• Money began flooding the Satya Sai account thanks to Goswami. Between July 12 and August 9, 2004, Rs 17.45 crore flowed from Patna DM’s account to this Satya Sai account.

• The outflow from the account begins the very same day as the inflow.

• On July 12, Rs 25 lakh is transferred to the account of Hindustan Business System (in the same bank) which again is owned by Santosh Jha.

• Hindustan Business System account gets Rs 25 lakh on July 14, Rs 50 lakh on July 15.

• On July 27, Rs 1 crore is transferred to the Poonam Printing Press account—the account which introduced Baba Satya Sai.

• In a parallel process, huge cash withdrawals by Sanjeev Kumar are recorded: Rs 1 crore each on July 19, 21, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31. Again on August 4, 6, 7, Rs 1 crore each. The last transaction of Rs 60 lakh was done on August 10.

That’s not all.

If there was one legitimate transaction in the flood relief scam, at least on paper, it was the Rs 22-lakh order by BSSIC for the supply of relief. For this, BSSIC received Rs 13 lakh from Goswami. Records show that this Rs 22 lakh went to the same two people linked to the alleged siphoning of Rs 17.45 crore: B K Singh and Sanjeev Kumar.

Sanjeev Kumar and B K Singh are the men who transact deals on behalf of Santosh Printing Press (also owned by Santosh Kumar Jha) which, believe it or not, supplied sattu, polythene sheets and candles to the legitimate Bihar Small Scale Industries Corporation. Papers show that the press is in Kadam Kuan but The Indian Express found no such establishment in that neighbourhood.