Head may begin to roll soon as government is girding up to nab the culprit in Rs1200 crore scam in Nafed. The Enquiry Committee has sent notices to 7 directors and has given them 8 weeks to reply. Some of the names of present and former Directors whom notices have been served are Mr Bijender Singh, present Chairman, Mr C V Holkar, present Director, Shri Niwas Gauda,former Director,Nagar Dalli,former Director,Mr Makker former Director from Punjab.There are two former ministers from Karnataka in the list.
There are 29 officials of Nafed also in the list who have to file reply in 60 days.
When Indian Cooperative.com contacted the present Chairman Bijender Singh on receipt of notices he confessed that he and other directors have indeed recieved them.But he blamed it partly on the prejudices of first Enquiry Committee. To trace the route of vanished money the Registrar of cooperatives constituted a Committee which,according to Bijender was very expensive charging Rs 50000 for one sitting. He wrote to Registrar and Ministry of Agriculture against this, which in turn biased the Committee against him(Bijender Singh).
When asked why the second committee headed by retired Secretary also found him guilty on some charges,he said that charges are basically on Business Committee of Nafed in which I was not a regular member. But it is true that being a local Director I used to participate in the meetings.
The business committee entered into tie up business with many private parties leading to huge loss to Nafed. Top officials with their “notorious tie-ups” with some private businesses allegedly made Nafed extend counter guarantees on loans taken by them without any security, with the connivance of a few board members. It is also reliably learnt that Delhi police has arrested the former additional managing director Homi Rajvanshi — and a Delhi-based businessman identified as O.P. Aggarwal in this connection.
The first committee had found the entire board guilty of entering into non-agricultural business without the legel amendment in the Nafed bye-laws. But the Second Enquiry Committee has exonerated the Board.
When Indiancooperative contacted the former Managing Director Dr C V Anand Bose, he said that legal acton will complete its course. I was sent to Nafed to clean up the place and root out the corruption,I did my job and enjoyed my stay.There were many complaints and allegations and the Committee has found them to be true,added Dr Bose.Government has earlier also sent me to jobs of weeding out corruption.You can check out my track record, quipped a confident Bose.