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Journalism of Courage
Even as a special court extended the judicial remand of former Patna DM Gautam Goswami and eight others till August 1 in the multi-crore flood relief scam case, another accused, Amitabh Arun, surrendered before it today.
Arun, a computer programmer with the Patna District Rural Development Authority, was privy to ‘‘illegal transactions’’ made by Goswami, said Additional Director General (Vigilance) Neelmani.
Arun surrendered hours after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the Patna High Court—designated vigilance judge Jitendra Mohan Sharma remanded him to judicial custody till August 1.
Arun, who was posted in Goswami’s office, was considered very close to the former DM and Santosh Kumar Jha, the alleged kingpin of the scam, said officials. Both Goswami and Jha are in Beur jail.
Earlier, Goswami failed to appear before Judge Sharma as he was indisposed, said officials.
The 1992-batch IAS officer has been charged with fraud, forgery and cheating in the distribution of relief material as the nodal officer for conducting relief operations.
