Jharkhand Governor takes action against ‘tainted’ babus

Among those against whom action has been initiated is IAS officer Bhagwan Prasad,Managing Director of the Jharkhand Mineral Development Corporation,who was facing the charge of regularising the services of 30 daily wage employees without requisite permission from the competent authority. He has been placed under suspension.

Another IAS officer,Alok Goyal,Additional Secretary in the department of Institutional Finance,who was facing a number of corruption charges,including one relating to destroying a voucher amounting to Rs 1.5 lakh as Director of the Social Welfare department,has been booked and official proceedings initiated against him.

Two Jharkhand Administrative Service officers Mahavir Prasad,BDO of Topchanchi,and Namita Nalini Bhakla,Circle Officer of Torpa,who were also facing corruption charges,have been suspended. Also,the time-bound promotion and annual increment due to Amrendra Kumar,Executive Engineer of the Prison Inspection Cell,has been withheld.

Now,on the Governor’s order,the state Vigilance Bureau is set to lodge FIR against the Jharkhand Public Service Commission’s former chairman Dilip Prasad and three of its former members — Gopal Prasad Singh,Radha Govind Nagesh and Shanti Devi — accusing them of misusing official authority,fraud and criminal conspiracy. “We have to act in accordance with the law,” IG (Vigilance) M V Rao told The Indian Express.