Bihar: Corrupt babus' property outside state to be seized

After confiscating the assets of corrupt government officials in Bihar, the state government has decided to confiscate their property even outside the state, officials said on Thursday.

An official of the state vigilance department said that their department will confiscate the properties of officials outside the state, who have been accused of having assets disproportionate to their known sources of income and proceedings to confiscate their properties initiated in the state.

"The government is formulating strategy to confiscate the corrupt officials who possess property outside the state and how to use them," the vigilance official said.

A top vigilance official told rediff.com that Bihar government will send teams to confiscate property of corrupt officials in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal and New Delhi.

"We have solid information that corrupt officials facing the disproportionate case owned flats and plots in these places outside Bihar. The vigilance department will initiate to confiscate them soon," official said.

Till date the state government has initiated the process of property confiscation against 45 officials under the Bihar Special Courts Act, 2009.

The government has already confiscated the houses of Indian Administrative Service officer Shiv Shankar Verma, and a treasury clerk, Girish Kumar, in Patna and turned them into school for poor children.

According to vigilance official, Verma owns two plots in UP. Both of his plots will be confiscated.

Last month a special vigilance court ordered the confiscation of the assets of former Bihar police chief Narayan Mishra and his wife on corruption charges. The court had asked the Patna district magistrate to make the seizures within 30 days.

Mishra has been accused of having assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Mishra owns a flat at Bhopal and two plots at Hazaribagh in Jharkhand.

Proceedings to confiscate properties of some more officials, including former drug controller Y K Jaiswal, revenue officer Yogendra Prasad Singh, engineer Srikant Prasad and former Rajbhasha Parishad director B N Chowdhary have also been initiated.

Officials said Jaiswal has his unaccounted property at Varanasi in UP. The vigilance department has moved the designated court to issue an order for confiscation of his property.

Earlier this month the state vigilance department has moved the Patna civil court for a direction to confiscate Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Sonelal Hembrum's assets. BJP is a partner in the ruling coalition headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Kumar gave his nod for prosecution of 11 officials of various departments last year. The government last year put in place the Special Courts Act to confiscate properties of corrupt officials.