Search the Internet           Tips

Bihar's politicians serve
people and prison terms

The Bihar government recently proposed a special jail for VIPs. Though the idea is to segregate politicians from other prisoners, Opposition parties attribute this to the increasing number of former ministers going to jail on various charges. However, there is no dearth of Opposition politicians too who are in jail on various criminal charges.

About a dozen politicians who served in the Laloo Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi ministries are facing charges. They are involved in some scams that are more than two decades old. While one minister is in jail, several others are on bail. Lalit Yadav, involved in the infamous truck driver torture case, is absconding.

When Laloo resigned in July 1997, following the filing of a charge-sheet by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the animal husbandry scam, he was not alone. Two cabinet colleagues, the now late Bhola Ram Toofani and Vidyasagar Nishad met the same fate and had to accompany him to Beur model jail.

The third ruling party politician allegedly involved in the scam, Chandra Deo Prasad Verma, was a minister of state under the Gujral ministry and had to quit before going to jail. Till 1996, he was a minister in the Laloo ministry. He fought the 1996 parliamentary elections and became a minister under Deve Gowda and Gujral ministries.

Toofani, a freedom fighter, died a broken man after a prolonged illness.

The animal husbandry scam was followed by the engineering college scam and then minister of state for science and technology, Braj Bihari Prasad, was forced to quit moments before his arrest in 1998.

He was gunned down in hospital on June 14 that year while still in judicial custody. In hospital, where he was brought from jail, he was provided a security guard, but henchmen of Samajwadi Party legislator Devendranath Dubey allegedly shot him dead. A rival gang later killed Dubey.

The bitumen scam saw the fall of the then road construction minister Ilyas Hussain in 1998. He was immediately dropped from the ministry.

Hussain was in the eye of a storm recently, when a local daily alleged that he was involved in sodomy in the Beur jail. Though jail officials denied the incident, the newspaper based its report on allegations of prisoners who charged that two boys were brought to the room. In fact, the inmates protested and the jail police fired in the air to bring the situation under control.

Mahavir Prasad, the state's minister of health till last February, was recently charge-sheeted in the leprosy scam, while his name figure in a medical scam as well. A known dissident, Laloo dropped him from the Rabri government when the ministry was sworn in last March.

The education department has its own quota of scams: an appointment scam and BEd degree racket. Former higher education minister Jaya Prakash Narayan Yadav and minister of state for education, along with a couple of vice chancellors and Indian Administrative Service officers figure in the scam.

While Yadav got bail, minister of state Manjhi is still at large. Though the case came to light in May 1999, he moves around quite freely. He also contested assembly elections from Bodh Gaya last February.

Unlike other scams, which are being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, the BEd degree racket is being investigated by the state vigilance department. Then acting governor, B M Lal, ordered the probe.

The latest to join the long list of politicians implicated in cases is water resources minister Jagdanand Singh. A case was lodged last August, following a complaint by an engineer of the department, charging him, water resources secretary Radha Singh and 23 others with bungling. The engineer moved the court only after being suspended for cheating and dereliction of duty.

Radha Singh is the sister of N K Singh, secretary in the Prime Minister Office.

Jagdanand Singh threatened to quit after the case was lodged, but Laloo persuaded him to continue.

While Laloo has been blaming the Opposition for getting him and his colleagues implicated in scams, he never defended minister of state for labour Lalit Yadav. He was dropped from the ministry, expelled from the party and action against him was ordered minutes after news of illegal confinement and torture of a truck driver was flashed on a television channel.

Though his property was attached and a manhunt was launched to nab him, he is still absconding.

A politician not involved in any scam yet but became controversial was former minister of state for horticulture, Rakesh Kumar. Last November then governor Suraj Bhan dropped him for being under age. He became a minister only a few months back, when he, his father and then Samata Party member of Parliament Shukuni Chaudhary, rejoined Rashtriya Janata Dal.

The irony is that all these tainted ministers are 'popular' in their constituencies. Ilyas won the February assembly election from jail. The only person to lose in recent times was Laloo, whom Sharad Yadav defeated in Madhepura in last year's Lok Sabha election.

The Opposition has its own quota of scamsters. The most prominent among them is former chairman of the Public Account Committee, Dhruv Bhagat, who was among senior most Bharatiya Janata Party legislators. However, when his name figured in the animal husbandry scam, he was suspended from the party.

He, along with Jagdish Sharma, were the two non-ruling party legislators who had to go to jail. Sharma, who was in the Congress, is now an Independent.

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report