Contractor Jha built fortune under RJD

When contacted, Jha said he was away in Motihari and would ‘‘clear everything on his return to Patna.’’

Confronted with Express reports that revealed him as one of the beneficiaries of the scam, he said it was all ‘‘misrepresentation of facts’’. ‘‘I have been a supplier for the BSSIC for long and I have documents that prove my role is bonafide,’’ Jha said.

Before surfacing as an LJP candidate in the recent Assembly elections, Jha was always identified as an RJD insider.

In fact, in a newspaper advertisement he released in October 16, 2004, Jha said he ‘‘would shed the last drop of his blood to fight for the poor of Bihar, with the help of the RJD.’’

The quarter-page ad is about the ‘‘relief work conducted in 27 panchayats in Phulparas assembly segment’’ three weeks earlier. ‘‘Sattu, candles and sarees were distributed to thousands of poor by the honorable Member of Parliament Sadhu Yadav,’’ said the advertisement put out by Jha, identified as ‘‘President, Public Welfare Foundation.’’

Talking to reporters in Delhi, Sadhu Yadav said: ‘‘I’m not a minister, commissioner or DM and I don’t know where the money went.’’ He said the Express report was making wild allegations and that he did not know Santosh Kumar Jha.

Besides Jha’s claim of his association with Sadhu, The Indian Express has independently verified from sources close to Sadhu Yadav that he had travelled with Jha to the interiors of Madhubani, distributing relief.

All these were part of Jha’s preparations for getting an RJD ticket from any seat in the region. But his chances were scuttled because he landed in trouble with Devendra Yadav, powerful RJD politician in the region. After managing an LJP ticket to contest from Madhepur, he was arrested by the district police on different charges and kept in jail for one month.

Patna DM Sudheer Kumar today confirmed that more than 17 crore meant for flood relief flowed from the government account to the account of Baba Satya Sai Industries and later to accounts controlled by Santosh Kumar Jha.

‘‘I have made inquiries into the transactions relating to flood relief and several matters of concern has surfaced. Despite payment of rupees, there is not even a single voucher available; and the money has been traced as flowing into accounts which have no reason to receive it as per the records available with me. At any rate, the entire worth of relief shown to have supplied is not more than Rs 7.7 crore,’’ he said.

Kumar has submitted a report to the Bihar Chief Secretary in this regard.