The case of two engineers facing bribery charge has got stuck with Chief Minister Madhu Koda not awarding sanction to prosecute them.Koda maintains that he is not shielding the accused — P Gupta and Shambhu Ram — who were Assistant Engineers of the state Government-run Rural Engineering Organisation. “We are processing the file and the Chief Minister will take the decision purely on merit of the case,” said a senior officer close to Koda.On February 10, Jaykant Bara, Director of the Ekka Construction, a private company owned by Memon Ekka, wife of Enos Ekka, had approached the vigilance department with a complaint that Gupta and Ram were demanding a huge sum of bribe to release payment connected with construction of a road in Simdega, the home district of Ekkas. Soon, Vigilance sleuths laid a trap and arrested Gupta and Ram after they were caught allegedly taking Rs 1 lakh and Rs 41,000, respectively. On March 14, both engineers were booked and sent to jail in two separate cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Subsequently, the Vigilance department sought the state’s permission to prosecute them. According to the law, if the Government does not give its sanction within 60 days of filing the FIR, the court can release them on bail. Now, while the accused e continue to be in jail, the prosecution wants the Chief Minister to give his nod.
