Not just Patna, scamsters bid for ‘services’ in 5 districts

‘‘We are writing to several DMs, asking what correspondence did they have with us during the floods,’’ said R N Tiwari, MD, BSSIC.

Santosh Printing Press—it’s owned by Santosh Kumar Jha, recipient of the money that flowed from the Patna DM’s account—wrote to the BSSIC on June 22, 2004 and offered to supply relief material to different districts. Patna was only one of them.

The letter was signed, on behalf of Santosh Printing Press, by B K Singh. So far, he remains a mystery man.

Subsequently, M Prasad, the then BSSIC managing director, wrote to at least five DMs—of Patna, Katihar, Supaul, Samastipur and Darbhanga—offering relief materials on rates quoted by Santosh Printing Press.

As per BSSIC records, only the Supaul and Patna DMs responded. The Supaul DM invited them for a bid while Patna DM Gautam Goswami placed two orders, worth Rs 22 lakh, to the BSSIC which in turn outsourced it to Santosh Printing Press. What happened in the case of Patna is no longer a secret. But what is now a matter of inquiry is what happened in the other districts.

The role of BSSIC insiders in the entire scam is becoming an increasing possibility. Though M Prasad denied he knew B K Singh, he admitted receiving letters from Singh on several occasions. He even wrote to the Patna DM, requesting that an identity card be issued to Singh to enter the Patna airport. Santosh Printing Press figures in the BSSIC files as suppliers of goods, ranging from malaria drugs to candles, in several districts and under several government projects.

‘‘Our association with the BSSIC is longstanding. After the blacklisting of my Punam Printing Press, I began using the name of Santosh Printing Press,’’ Santosh Kumar Jha told The Indian Express. Total allocation for flood relief across the state was nearly Rs 100 crore. After Patna, Darbhanga got the maximum money: nearly Rs 7 crore.

Darbhanga DM Pradeep Kumar told The Indian Express that he procured material from the local market after a tender.

Investigations into the cash inflow and outflow of bank accounts of Baba Satya Sai Industries, Santosh Printing Press, Punam Printing Press and Hindustan Business Systems—the last three are directly owned by Santosh Kumar Jha—are expected to establish the linkages of flood relief and other government procurements.