A special CBI court in Patna announced its first sentences on Tuesday regarding the Srijan scam, one of the most notorious financial frauds in Bihar’s history. The court imposed rigorous imprisonment and significant fines on three individuals, which included a former treasury employee and a banking official, for their involvement in channeling government funds to an NGO’s account. Judge Sunil Kumar II of the CBI special court rendered the verdict in RC 11A/2017 (Special Case 3/2018), convicting all three defendants of crimes under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Amarendra Kumar Yadav, who served as the Nazir for the Bhagalpur District Magistrate’s office, was sentenced to four years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 14 lakh. Ajay Kumar Pandey also received a sentence of four years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 6.25 lakh. Rakesh Kumar, the former assistant manager at the Bhagalpur branch of Indian Bank, was handed three years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 2.5 lakh. The CBI presented 38 prosecution witnesses, leading the court to determine that all three men played direct roles in the unlawful diversion of government funds.
The Srijan scam was unveiled in 2017, revealing that approximately Rs 12 crore had been illicitly transferred from the Banka and Bhagalpur district treasuries to the account of Srijan Mahila Vikas Samiti, an NGO, over the period from 2003–04 to 2017. What began as a seemingly isolated financial discrepancy evolved into a complex fraud scheme involving various public officials and bank staff. Initially investigated by the Bihar Police, the case was later assigned to the CBI due to its extensive nature. The agency subsequently filed charges against the three individuals convicted in this ruling.
This decision represents the first sentencing in a series of cases related to the expansive Srijan scam, which reportedly involves the misappropriation of over Rs 12 crores over several years. Additional cases are still progressing through the judicial system.
