The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has continued questioning of Assam government officials in connection with the Rs 6.5 crore Louis Berger bribery scam for the fourth day on Saturday.
In a marathon questioning, a six-member CBI team led by Superintendent of Police (SP), Rajiv Ranjan on Saturday questioned IAS officer Preetom Saikia at Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) office in Bhangagarh here in connection with the scam.
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The CBI team also visited Enforcement Directorate (ED) office at Rajgarh seeking information relating to the scam besides conducting search operation at the office of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at Christianbasti.
Sources said the CBI sleuths questioned Saikia, who is currently posted as Commissioner and Secretary of the department of Elementary Education, regarding seven missing files of the GMDA’s water supply project.
Saikia served as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GMDA when the multi-crore Louis Berger bribery scam took place.
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The officials of the central investigating agency on Friday quizzed former OSD to CEO of GMDA, Pomi Brauah in connection with the scam besides collecting documents from GMDA office.
The CBI team, which arrived in Guwahati on Wednesday, had also questioned two GMDA officials–Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rupak Kr Mazumdar and secretary Paragmoni Mahanta at GMDA office.
Earlier on Wednesday, the CBI team met RTI activist and convener of Swaraj Asom Bhaben Handique, on the basis of whose PIL the Gauhati High Court directed the CBI to probe into the Luis Berger scam, at the DGP office in Ulubari.
The Gauhati High Court had ordered the CBI on September 1, 2017 to take up the multi-crore Louis Berger corruption case on the basis of a PIL (No 85/2015) lodged in the HC by Bhaben Handique, an RTI activist and convener of Swaraj Asom.
As per a directive by the two-member bench of the Gauhati High Court comprising Chief Justice Ajit Singh and Justice Manojit Bhuyan, the CBI took up the case in September last year by filing a 40-page FIR against unknown officials for allegedly bribing the former Congress-led Government to fix the contract.
After filing the case, a CBI team visited Assam in October 12, 2017 and took statements of the petitioners (who filed a case in Dispur PS) and the Government official, who filed a case with the CID regarding the scam.
Bhaben Handique also submitted some related documents required by the CBI team.